Apex AZ
by Maruno
Summary: The third and final saga in this epic story. One man faces everything the Universe throws at him in his quest to become a legend. First Continuum T, then Supplement DB, and now this. Strong language: rare. Saga finally complete, 11.2.06
1. The Third Super Saiyan

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, or anything mentioned within it, specifically the Borg. For anything else, see the disclaimer at the start of Continuum T. Do read the other two sagas first, so you'll understand what's going on.

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Previously in this storyline:

Tenchi went Super Saiyan 3, made friends, revived his clone, became God, lost his powers, found all but one of the DragonBalls, and now he's waiting until the last one comes back. If that's confusing at all, see the two previous sagas, Continuum T and Supplement DB. They should sort you out. And so, here it is. The third saga in this epic story. I'm regretting refusing to be paid for this now. Well, it's not my fault I didn't think it would catch on.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part I – The Third Super Saiyan

* * *

Since time had been restored, and everyone didn't remember everything that didn't happen, which was just as well, as they shouldn't have, nothing much had happened. For the past seven months, the six collected DragonBalls had been collecting dust in a box in the attic of the Masaki house. Aki had seen his way to moving out, and had gone to live on another planet. He had actually started a training school, where he hoped that he could teach people to control their energy, and hopefully to become Saiyans. He was doing quite well, and of course had plenty of backing by Tenchi, mostly in the form of financial aid. Tenchi had enough to spare.

Sasami, too, had been doing extremely well. Since she had started her training seven months ago, her power had increased dramatically. Not as much as the two Super Saiyans, as they had been training for years, at least, but Sasami was still doing amazingly well. She was able to fly with ease, and had been timed several months ago to fly around the world in twenty minutes. This, as any mathematician would say, was fast. This, as Tenchi would also say, is very impressive. It meant that Sasami could control her energy so well to be able to achieve those speeds that she now had a top power level of around five or six million. This was stronger than Tenchi was when he had first turned Super Saiyan against Sel. However, becoming a Saiyan was about more than just having a strong soul. It was about necessity.

Tenchi wandered outside one sunny February morning, planning to see how the garden was. He gazed around and decided it was mostly fine. There was a slightly cold breeze, but nothing able to kill anything there. It was enough to give Sasami a cold, though.

Tenchi walked up behind Sasami, who was sitting in the middle of the garden in lotus position, busy meditating.

"Morning, Tenchi," Sasami said, not moving, as he approached. "What's up?"

"Hey, Sasami," Tenchi replied, sitting down next to her. "Nothing much. Meditating?"

"Looks like it," Sasami answered, opening her eyes. "Is it time for another lesson?"

"No," Tenchi said, "but I do have a suggestion. Remember what I told you about trying to hold the highest energy possible as much as you can, so you get used to it?"

"Yes," Sasami replied. "I also remember you telling me to practise suppressing my energy."

"Good point," Tenchi said. "Although, I do think you should try holding a high energy as much as you can. You seem to be doing fine with the suppression."

"Okay, Tenchi." Sasami stood up and closed her eyes, raising her power level. She struggled a bit to get it past five million, but she managed it. She opened her eyes again.

"Hey, Sasami?" Tenchi said. "I'm going somewhere for a while. It's kind of private, so I can't tell you, but I'll be gone a couple of hours. Just keep training, okay?"

"Private?" Sasami asked. "Is it to do with who you love the most?"

"Sasami," Tenchi sighed. "It's not that I love someone the most. It's because I know my true choice, ever since I became God. The two are completely different. I love you all."

"Who's your true choice, then, Tenchi?"

"Just get back to training. You'll find out when it's time."

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"Little Washu?" Tenchi asked. "Can I ask you a favour?"

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The air bubble rose up through the water and floated on top for a moment, before popping. Sasami heard it.

The vole poked its head out of the hole and sniffed around, before deciding not to come out. Sasami heard that, too.

Sasami was deep in meditation. Her power level was still near her maximum, so her perception was more precise than normal. She could hear and smell and feel everything around her. She could almost see it as well, but her eyes were shut. Surprising, really, that she didn't notice the ten-foot green lizard monster standing in front of her.

Sasami closed her mind to her surroundings and opened her eyes, only to freeze, before scrambling backwards furiously as she caught sight of the monster. It watched as she went.

"Such power," the monster said through its toothy snout. It reached a clawed hand up and scratched its face, which was fairly inset into its neck and muscular scaly reptilian body. Large black horns protruded forwards from the top of its wrists, and extended to about the knuckles of the claws. The seemingly spindly legs supported it, although they were much broader than most human legs. They were bent in a couple of places, perched on the tips of the toes and crouched slightly. "I will have fun devouring it."

"Wha... what are you?" Sasami said nervously, finally backing into a bush. She pulled herself up slowly.

"I am Yakonn," the monster said, in its low growling voice. "And I'm going to eat your energy." Yakonn lunged forwards quickly, swinging its claws around at Sasami. Sasami jumped out of the way and quickly put some distance between the two. Yakonn turned around to face her, and clenched its claws. The horns in the back of its wrists grew longer, until they were about as long as its arms. It waved them around a bit, before darting forward again at her. Again, Sasami dodged, but Yakonn moved with her. Sasami was busy avoiding the flailing horns, while Yakonn was standing in front of her, moving its arms quickly in an attempt to slash her.

Sasami leapt and flew up, away from the monster. She formed an energy ball in her hand and threw it at Yakonn. It impacted accurately, but caused no damage. Yakonn also leapt up and hovered at Sasami's height.

"You're only wasting your energy," Yakonn said. "That means I'll have less to eat."

"Better wasted than eaten," Sasami replied, holding her hands out in front of her, palms towards the lizard. A dark purple energy ball formed in front of them. "Saigas blast!" she shouted, launching the energy at Yakonn. Yakonn swung its arm and deflected the blast into the sky. Yakonn disappeared and grabbed Sasami from behind, holding her tightly. Its hot breath moved past her neck as a free claw ran across her throat, its wrist horns having retracted back into its arms.

"Once I kill you, I'll drain your energy," Yakonn whispered. "And what's better is, no-one else can stop me."

Sasami struggled, but Yakonn was very strong. It didn't let go. Sasami tried raising her power level, to try and force it away from her, but that didn't work. Tenchi could help, because he said he'd gone away for a while. Besides him, she was the strongest person on the planet. No-one else could help, even if they were aware of what was going on.

Suddenly, she felt something, a power, inside her. It was like a blockade, a barrier, stopping her from reaching behind it. She could guess that something important lay behind it. She reached within herself for it, trying to break the barrier.

Yakonn's grip tightened around her neck. In a few minutes she would be dead. The stinking breath was horrible. Sasami just wanted to get away. But the barrier wouldn't break. It was her only way to escape, as her power level was too low to be of any use against the monster. She tried yelling, to see if that would help, but her breath came out in bursts. She closed her eyes tightly and concentrated hard.

The barrier still wasn't moving. An impenetrable wall, unmoving to anything. But there was a gap. Beyond that gap lay another barrier. This one had a weakness, like a crack, too. It was an extremely small one, but it was there. Sasami tried to force herself through them to the other side. It was a struggle, but mere seconds from passing out, she burst through.

Sasami's hair drew together in places, and darkened. Rising up on her head, it flashed golden, followed by another burst. Yakonn let go of her and stepped back, its mouth open in surprise. This allowed her hair to spring up, reaching out before and behind her, half upright on her head. The long hair stretched out far, and lightened. An aura, there from the start, but only now noticed, glowed golden-yellow, and flamed up around the girl.

Sasami had become a Super Saiyan.

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Yakon gasped. "You're a Super Saiyan?" it exclaimed.

Sasami looked up at her hair, which was swaying in front of her. She really did have long hair. "Oh wow!" she exclaimed. "I am! I'm a Super Saiyan! I can't believe it!"

Yakon frowned, which was a difficult task for a lizard. It pounced forward, swinging at Sasami again. The only thing it slashed, though, was some of Sasami's hair. The few long hairs dropped to the ground, turning back to their original green colour. Sasami kicked Yakonn from behind, and pounced on its back as it stumbled forwards, making it fall onto the ground. Sasami flew up, forming an energy attack as she went. She launched it at the lizard below. It hit it, and caused a small pure explosion, a small sphere of pure energy, instead of billowing dust and heat. Once it dissipated, Yakonn was revealed, lying beaten up in the small crater pit Sasami had created.

Yakon staggered to its feet and looked up at Sasami. "Sasami!" it called. "That's enough!"

Yakon's image flickered and disappeared, revealing a form that had been inside it. It, too, was fairly bruised. It was Tenchi.

Sasami dropped down to him. "Tenchi, are you alright?" she asked urgently. Tenchi nodded.

"I'll be fine," he said. "But what about you? You've become a Super Saiyan. That's unbelievable!"

"But, Tenchi, what are you doing here?" Sasami asked. "I thought you were going away for a bit."

Well," Tenchi said. "I actually said that to make you think that I was away, so that when Yakonn attacked you, you wouldn't think that I would come along and save you."

"But what do you mean?"

"I asked Washu to make me something to disguise myself," Tenchi explained. "That way, I could attack you, to provoke you into becoming a Saiyan. It seems that I provoked you a bit further than that."

"So, because becoming a Saiyan requires a need to do so, you decided to give me that need?" Sasami asked.

"That's right. And hey, it worked."

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Sasami remained a Super Saiyan for a while longer, in order to make herself accustomed to the feeling. Her power had increased a fair bit from the transformation alone, so her level was about seven million now. Tenchi was worried that Sasami would experience the same evil feelings as he and Aki had when they first became Super Saiyans, but she didn't seem to. Washu suggested that it was only God who experienced these evil pressures, as a sort of test. As Aki was a clone of Tenchi, he had felt this evil too.

The others were understandably shocked when they found out about Sasami's transformation, although they realised that it was a good thing in the end. Sasami had become stronger, much stronger than anyone else in the house, with the self-evident exception of Tenchi, and this was the undeniable proof of that.

For the next few days, Sasami and Tenchi trained some more, stretching her limits further. They now considered each other to be an equal, regardless of Tenchi's higher strength.

Two days after the transformation, Tenchi went to visit Aki. It was a weekly thing, meeting up with each other and having a meal. It was usually private, with none of the girls tagging along, but Tenchi decided to bring Sasami with him this time. They jumped to the planet Aki had built his school on, and walked over to the main building.

A receptionist met them in the entrance hall. He told them that Aki was just finishing with a class, and would join them shortly. While they waited, Tenchi and Sasami decided to watch the end of the class. They found the room and walked in.

Aki was standing at the front of the room, and sat on the floor in front of him were a dozen people of different ages, from ten to fifty years old. They had each been selected by Aki, and to a lesser extent Tenchi, to join the school, the Masaki Academy for Gifted Individuals, MAGI for short. Each person was levitating a ball in front of him or her, some attempting to raise two at once. Aki, being the teacher, was walking round, offering advice to people who were struggling, or asking them to demonstrate how good they were at controlling their balls.

As Tenchi and Sasami entered, Aki turned around. He was wearing a long pale yellow sleeved cape/coat, and a light blue tunic underneath. His hair, which he kept long as a further distinctive mark that differentiated him from Tenchi, was brushed back behind his ears. His eyebrows rose as they entered.

"Tenchi! Sasami!" he greeted. "Nice to see you." He turned around. "People, can you stop what you're doing for a moment? I'd like to introduce you to two very good friends of mine. This is the Second Crown Princess of Jurai, Sasami." Sasami waved timidly. "And this handsome guy over here is my brother, Tenchi. You've probably heard of him."

"Handsome only because we have the same face," Tenchi whispered. "Hello, everyone," he spoke up. "We didn't mean to interrupt. We're just here to see your sensei."

"Hey, Tenchi, why don't you show off your powers?" Aki suggested in a whisper.

"Like how?" Tenchi whispered back.

"I don't know. Why not go Super Three? It's one of the few things I can't show this lot."

"I'd rather not," Tenchi replied. "But how's about I get all those balls levitating at once?"

"Sure, why not?" Aki turned to his class. "Everyone, I'd like you to throw your balls at Tenchi here. He's going to try and catch them all with his abilities. After three, now."

Tenchi leaned over to Sasami. "Why don't you take care of this?" he whispered. "Do you think you can do it?"

"Sure I can," Sasami replied. "There's only about fifteen. I think I can handle it."

"Three!" Aki said.

The balls flew forward at Tenchi. Tenchi just stood there, while Sasami at his side raised her hands. The balls all stopped mid-flight, and stayed hovering. Sasami moved her arms slightly, and the balls started moving towards a large green bucket. Sasami dropped them in.

"Okay, that's it for today," Aki said. "Have fun, and keep practising."

The three waited while the class went out, some stopping to exchange a word with one of them. Once they were all out, Aki walked up to Sasami. "Sasami, I'm impressed," he said. "There's few people I know that would be able to do that after this little training."

"Good teacher," Tenchi said. "But I'll tell you what. Have you felt anything strange recently?"

Aki shook his head. "No. Why?"

Tenchi nudged Sasami. "Then you won't know. Sasami, do you want to show him?"

Sasami moved to the middle of the room and started to remove her hair bands. Aki moved over and asked Tenchi something. "What's she doing?" he asked.

"Just a little trick I helped her with," Tenchi replied.

"Can she become a Saiyan?" Aki asked. "No, I shouldn't think she can. Not after such short a time."

"Hey, I did even before I started training," Tenchi replied. "Just watch."

Sasami shook her hair loose and began to raise her power level. Aki watched on in surprise as Sasami passed the million mark. "That's a lot of energy," Aki said, gaping at what Sasami was reaching. She reached seven million and stopped.

"That's not all," she said. "Watch this." She started concentrating hard. Her hair rose up and darkened. Her eyes also blackened. She became a Saiyan, but she didn't stop there. There was a flash of light as she became a Super Saiyan. "What do you think?" she asked.

Aki had all but stopped breathing as looked at the Super Saiyan in front of him. Eventually, he managed a "Wow." And then he blinked.

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"So what'll it be?" Aki asked. He glanced over the menu again, but he knew what he was having.

Aki, Sasami and Tenchi were having a meal at a nearby restaurant. It was where Tenchi and Aki always went every week. The food there had a very good reputation, and it was easy to see why. Although living with Sasami, Tenchi still agreed that the food here was delicious. And why shouldn't it be? The second best chef in the galaxy worked there.

"Well, I want the mandarn steak," Tenchi said to the waiter. "And for dessert, I think the strawberry shortcake."

"I guess great minds really do think alike," Aki said. "Same for me, please."

"I'll have the aquanta slices with cheese and leak sauce, please," Sasami said. "And the orange melba fondue for dessert."

The waiter excused himself and moved off to register the order. The discussion was resumed.

"Sasami, I still can't believe that you're a Super Saiyan," Aki said.

"I know," Sasami replied. "Even I'm still a bit shocked."

"Especially me," Tenchi said. "I took quite a beating."

"Why? What happened?" Aki asked.

"Well, Tenchi disguised himself as a monster," Sasami said. "He attacked me and forced me to become a Super Saiyan."

"What kind of monster?" Ai asked, curious.

"Big green reptile, humanoid, extendible spikes in the forearms," Tenchi replied. "I must say, Washu did a really good job making it for me. I had no trouble controlling the body."

"Well, I guess the important thing is that Sasami did it," Aki said. "She is now the third strongest person in the galaxy, as well as the third best cook. I don't think there's anything she can't do."

"I think you're right," Tenchi agreed. "Sasami truly is the best person in the galaxy."

Sasami, understandably, was blushing furiously at all this.

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The mean was eaten, and Aki, as usual, paid the bill. Tenchi and Sasami were just about to go back to Earth.

"Well, it's been nice seeing you again, Sasami," Aki said. "You too, Ten. Say hi to everyone for me."

"As always," Tenchi replied. "But why don't you come over for a visit some time? We'd always be glad to see you."

"I know," Aki said. "You've told me that before. And my answer is still that I'll come if I can find the time."

"Even so, I think you should visit us soon," Tenchi said. The tone in his voice was slightly stressed, almost indistinguishable, but Aki picked up on this.

"Anything in particular going on soon?" he asked.

"I just have a feeling," Tenchi replied. "It's probably nothing. Anyway, I'll see you soon, yes?"

"Sure you will," Aki replied. "See you, Sasami. Have fun."

"I always do," Sasami said. "Bye."

Tenchi and Sasami waved farewell to Aki, holding hands. Tenchi raised two fingers to his forehead and used instant translocation. They left.

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A few days later, and nothing much had happened. The days just seemed to drag along. Even so, it had already been a year and seven months since four of the five alien girls had appeared on Earth. It was ten months after Tenchi first evolved, and in one month the last DragonBall was due to appear.

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The Earth had, comparably, a low level of technology. The leading scientific minds of the planet still thought radio waves and digital computers were a good idea, which showed the level of advancement of the planet. This being the case, and the fact that it was still a protected planet, despite Tenchi saying a few things to the population, all communications to that planetary system were forbidden.

So they contacted Aki instead.

"Greetings, Mr Masaki," the scientist said. He was speaking to him from across the galaxy, via a direct communications screen connection.

"What can I do for you?" Aki asked.

"We require the services of either Lord Tenchi or Lady Washu," the scientist replied. "We have made a discovery they may find interesting."

"But why are you talking to me?" Aki asked. "If you want them, shouldn't you talk to them?"

"Ah, but we can't. You see, the Earth is still a protected planet."

"I see." Aki thought for a moment. "What kind of discovery are we talking about here?"

"It is an alien space craft. It crashed onto the remote planet of Keesan. It's uninhabited, but we would like either Lord Tenchi or Lady Washu to help us with our investigation."

"Alien, eh?" Aki said. "I thought all the different species in the galaxy were known?"

"That's what I mean," the scientist spoke. "It's not from this galaxy, and from what we can tell, it is highly sophisticated. The orbital scans of the technology are unbelievable. Would you please relay this message to your friends?"

"Sure," Aki said. "It sounds interesting. I'll join the investigation, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," the scientist replied. "The planet is under quarantine until you arrive. We would appreciate any help you and your friends can provide. After all, Lady Washu is the foremost intellectual expert in the galaxy. We really need her help if we are to understand this technology."

"Well, I'll talk to them," Aki said. "I guess we'll see you soon, then."

The communication ended. Aki moved away from the transmission console and sat on the floor. He proceeded to meditate, to contact Tenchi's mind.

"Tenchi, I need to see you," Aki repeated. "Please come."

The mental message soon got through, and Tenchi appeared in front of him. Aki opened his eyes and got up.

"Tenchi, hi," Aki said. "I'm glad you're here."

"What's up?" Tenchi asked.

"I just got off the comm. screen with some scientist," Aki said. "I recorded the message. Take a look."

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Tenchi finished watching the message. He looked up at Aki, a serious look on his face.

"Hey, why so serious?" Aki asked. "It's just some aliens. They're probably just exploring."

"I've got a feeling," Tenchi said. "I don't like this. Remember what I was saying a few days ago? I think this is it."

"What? You're saying this is bad?" Aki asked. When he received no reply, Aki too frowned. "What do you think?"

"I could always be wrong," Tenchi said. "I really hope I am. But if I'm right, we're going to need all the help we can get. The galaxy could very well be doomed."

"That bad, huh?"

"As always."

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Tenchi and Aki had returned to Earth to pick up the others, before jumping to the observation ship orbiting Keesan. They appeared on the main deck, and promptly shocked everyone there, nearly causing a few heart attacks in the process.

"I'd like to see the information you've gathered about the aliens," Tenchi said.

"Of course," the scientist who had spoken to Aki said. "Lady Washu, perhaps you would like to see it as well?"

"Sure." Washu joined them as they looked over the data collected on the crash. Apparently, the craft had entered the galaxy at an incredible speed, much faster than even the Lightning-class ships of the Jurai galaxy. It had proceeded towards Keesan, but was hit by a meteor shower, which forced it to crash on the planet.

As Tenchi and Washu looked over the data on the technology, the others looked around, not quite sure what to do. They smiled apologetically to the other crew there.

"Shit." Tenchi's word came as a complete shock to everyone. His friends had never known him to swear before. This must be really bad.

"Tenchi, what is it?" Ayeka asked. "That language is unbecoming of you. Remember Sasami is here."

"I know," Tenchi said, frowning deeply. "But the situation calls for it. We are in seriously deep trouble."

"What's wrong?" Ryoko asked.

"Yeah. Why did you use that kind of language?" Mihoshi asked.

"I could very possibly still be wrong, but if it is what I'm thinking..." Tenchi trailed off. "I'm going down there. Aki, Sasami, come with me."

At the sound of the orders, they knew it was serious. Ryoko stepped forwards. "Hey. Sasami's going and I'm not?" she remarked. "I'm coming too."

"As am I," Ayeka said.

"Well, I'm going to see what's down there," Washu said.

"Can I come too?" Mihoshi asked.

Tenchi's eyes flickered, before he replied. "Fine. You can all come. Just hope there aren't any survivors."

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The group appeared in the middle of a sparse jungle. The widely spaced trees meant they could see for a fair distance all around. However, the dark lighting caused by the trees blocking the sunlight meant the visibility was reduced.

As the others looked around, Washu pulled an object out of her pocket and folded it open. She started waving it around while it made quiet beeps and other noises.

"What's that, Washu?" Sasami asked.

"Oh, I remember that!" Mihoshi said. "That was the thing you told me not to touch, isn't it?"

"I tell you not to touch a lot of things," Washu said. "I lose track. But this is a Tricorder. It's a portable scanning device. It can do lots of things, probably too many, actually."

"Can I use that?" Tenchi asked. "I know what I'm looking for."

"Um, sure, Tenchi," Washu said, handing it over. Tenchi looked at it and tapped at it a couple of times.

"How does this work?" he asked. "Ah, there we go." As he pressed more buttons, the noises produced from it changed. He waved it around until the noises changed again. "Over here," he said, handing the Tricorder back to Washu. Washu looked at the setting.

"A bio-neural interface network?" Washu said. "That's obscure. Nothing in the galaxy gives off that kind of signal. That's what you were scanning for?"

"And I've found it," Tenchi replied, walking towards the area it was located. It was almost certain now what was there, in Tenchi's mind, but he had to make sure. It could mean the end of all life in the galaxy, and Tenchi knew it was deadlier than anything he had ever faced before.

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

The group find what they were looking for, and also Tenchi's worst nightmare. It's the Borg. Tenchi explains what they've found, and why it is such a terrible thing.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Attack of the Drones".

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As this is a new saga, this message should appear yet again, just to remind you. The ever-present review button is waiting patiently, and you can always email me your comments and queries at Anything and everything you have to say is both relevant and greatly appreciated. Personal replies to actual questions are guaranteed. I thank you once again for your support of this story.


	2. Attack of the Drones

Previously in Apex AZ:

The third Super Saiyan emerged as Sasami, the most unlikely of people. Still, she is a Super Saiyan, and that could come in handy for what is coming. Wreckage from a crashed spaceship was found on a remote planet, and was discovered to be from another galaxy. Tenchi was seriously worried by this, and he had every reason to be. He knew almost certainly what it was. But surely he could have used his foresight or something? Maybe he didn't just to make it more interesting.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part II – Attack of the Drones

* * *

After ten minutes of walking, they emerged into a long narrow clearing. The trees around were burned, and the ground in the clearing was blackened. At one end was billowing smoke.

"Over there then," Tenchi said, walking towards the smoke. The others followed.

As they reached the smoke, they saw something large and metallic. It was the crashed craft. It was perhaps a hundred metres across, and looked like it used to be cubical.

"A cube ship?" Washu wondered. "That's an interesting design."

Tenchi looked around, and spotted some forms on the ground nearby. He walked over to one. It was humanoid, lying face down. It was covered in a metal-like material. The right arm was artificial, and had some kind of instrument instead of a hand. The head was bald, and a couple of large wires came out of the back of it, down to the middle of the back. Tenchi turned it over. More of the same kind of body was on the front, but the face was different. A large metal patch covered the right eye, the main bit of which was a socket for something. On the ground where the head had been was a small vaguely round bit of metal. Tenchi picked it up and looked at it. It was a smooth transparent bit of material, like rubber, partially encased by metal. The metal casing fit into the socket on the eye, so that the rubber-like material faced outwards. It was an artificial eye.

Tenchi dropped the body and stepped back, looking around for other bodies. He counted seven. "Three," he said.

"What's that?" Aki asked, walking up to him. "What have you found?"

"Three are still active," Tenchi said. "They're around here somewhere. Help me find them."

There was no need to. The three missing beings emerged from different areas of the nearby trees. They walked slowly, looking round as they went. All the implanted technology was active and flashing on their bodies. The artificial eye had electric-like green or blue lines spreading from the centre of the rubber-like lens to the edge. It also glowed a faint blue. A thin red beam of light emerged from the side of their artificial eyes, which moved over everything the beings looked at.

"We are the Borg," the three said in unison. "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. We will add your distinctiveness to our own."

"Damn!" Tenchi shouted, leaping back from them. The others quickly gathered together, as the three so-called Borg advanced on them. Tenchi moved away from the others and yelled. A bright flash of light emerged from him, and when it disappeared, Tenchi was a Super Saiyan 3. "Aki, power up!" Tenchi ordered. "You too, Sasami!"

Sasami and Aki did what they were told. It seemed Tenchi knew what was going on, and they might as well listen to him. Aki quickly became a Hyper Saiyan, while Sasami's hair rose to the occasion and she became a Super Saiyan.

Tenchi formed a powerful energy blast in his hands and threw it at one of the Borg. The thing was disintegrated. He formed another blast and threw it at the second one. It hit, and caused no damage.

"Fuck," Tenchi exclaimed. "They've adapted. You two, use your most powerful attacks, but don't get near them. Destroy them. Leave nothing."

Aki and Sasami nodded and formed their separate energy attacks. Aki threw his at one Borg, while Sasami attacked the other one. Both Borg were destroyed.

Tenchi sighed in relief as he looked round, satisfying himself that there was no more threat. He turned to the others. "Get back," he said. "I'm going to destroy all this."

The others ran or flew back as fast as they could. They knew Tenchi was being serious, so there was no use doubting his orders.

Tenchi rose up into the air, forming a large Masenko blast. "Take this!" he shouted. "Masenko Blast!" He threw the attack at the crashed ship. It impacted and expanded in a large pure energy explosion, which engulfed the whole of the craft, as well as some of the area around it. Once the explosion had faded, all that was left was a crater. Tenchi lowered to the ground, satisfied that it was all gone, and powered down. His long hair rested down his back, moving slightly in the breeze. He turned to the others.

"We have big problems," he said.

--------------------

"It's the Borg," Tenchi said. "Biomechanical drones, linked together and controlled by a collective mind. They reside in a nearby galaxy, but obviously they've started exploring more. They have extremely advanced technology, far much more so than this galaxy. Some of the things they have, even Washu would struggle to understand or think of."

"Are they a threat?" Ayeka asked. "They did just crash on a planet. Besides, you destroyed them easily enough."

"Another main feature of the Borg," Tenchi continued, "is their ability to quickly adapt to any kind of attack made against them. Since our energies are different, we were each able to destroy a drone. I would have done it myself, but they had adapted to my energy wave. I would have done no more damage."

"So how do you know all this?" Ryoko asked. "It's not as though you've been to that galaxy, have you?"

"I haven't, but I don't need to," Tenchi said. "My evolutions increased my knowledge immensely. I gained knowledge of them when I first evolved, but I didn't consider them a threat, until now. But we don't have time to talk. The Borg are coming. Washu, I need your computer."

"Sure," Washu said, puzzled. "But I thought the Borg already came. And why didn't I know about them?"

"That was a scout ship, with a crew of ten. The main ship is slower, but it's much bigger, with many more drones. And you didn't know about them because you never knew you could know about them. Even the goddesses don't know everything. All they know is from their own experience, and yours never included them. Now, excuse me."

Tenchi stood up from the couch in the Masaki house and headed for Washu's lab. Washu and the others followed him. As they entered, they found Tenchi had evolved to his second form, the completely robotic form. He sat down at the computer console and poised his hands. Each of his fingers split into three separate bits of metal, which began tapping unbelievably fast at the control panels in front of him.

As many screens popped up, each with different bits of information Tenchi was inputting, Tenchi spoke. "I must compile my knowledge of the Borg," he said. "Please do not disturb me. I do not require rest or food in this form. I can continue forever like this. Do not worry about me."

"Tenchi, are you sure you aren't overdoing this?" Aki asked. He got no reply.

Tenchi continued inserting data faster than ten expert humans could. Since he was robotic in this form, his mental lag time was infinitesimal, and he could concentrate on a hundred different things perfectly at once. He didn't show any signs of moving for a long while.

After a short time, the others left, leaving Tenchi behind to compile information. Tenchi worked quickly and efficiently, inputting megabytes of data every minute. This soon added up.

--------------------

Unwilling as they were, the others left Tenchi to work overnight. The next day Tenchi continued his relentless tapping, starting and ending large files simultaneously. He had compiled several gigabytes of information, including several video files, sounds and schematics, text and other information. But still he wasn't finished.

Sasami entered that afternoon. She stood a distance from Tenchi, watching his progress. It was too fast for even her to see, as by the time she had focussed on one screen it had disappeared, a new one taking its place. His fingers moved extremely fast.

"Tenchi, how long are you going to be?" Sasami asked. No reply. "Do you want to go for a walk for a while?" Nothing. "Is there anything you want to do?" Silence. "Okay," Sasami said quietly. "I'll just go now. Sorry for disturbing you."

The rapid tapping of Tenchi's fingers increased tempo for a few seconds, before slowing down and stopping. Sasami turned round just before she went out, and saw Tenchi, back in his human form, standing and looking at her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I've been too busy lately. Let's go for that walk."

--------------------

Nine months after Tenchi had first become God, he and Sasami were walking through the forest near home. For the first time in a while, Tenchi looked at Sasami, admiring her looks. She was now twelve. She had matured fairly quickly, but her appearance hadn't changed much. If anything, she was even cuter now.

Tenchi walked alongside her, holding her hand. He had been busy thinking about the things that had happened over the past few months, all beginning with the reappearance of... Well, he didn't need to go into that again. The good thing was that he was all right now, and so was everyone else. For the moment, anyway. He pushed away all these thoughts and walked on, enjoying life in general.

Sasami stopped, causing Tenchi to turn and face her.

"Tenchi, do you like me?" the young girl asked.

"That's a silly question, Sasami," Tench replied. "Of course I like you. In fact, I like you a lot more than that. I love you, actually."

"That's not what I mean, Tenchi," Sasami said. "Do you really love me?"

"Sasami, what's all this about?"

"Well, I remember you saying that you knew your true choice. It isn't me, is it?" she said, fully expecting it not to be.

"Why don't you think so?"

"It's just the way you've been acting," Sasami said. "Sure, you've been really nice to me, and you always make me laugh, but I don't think you really love me. Do you?"

"Well..."

"You don't," Sasami finished for him. "That's alright. I know I'm just a girl, and the others are all grown-ups. You should choose one of them, instead of me."

"Sasami, are you upset?" Tenchi asked.

Sasami shook her head. "Nope. As long as you're still around, I'm happy. And I'm also happy for whoever you did choose."

Tenchi sensed Sasami's mind. He couldn't detect any relevant amount of sadness. She wasn't lying when she said she didn't mind.

"Sasami, you know that just because you're a girl doesn't mean I don't care for you as much as any of the others," Tenchi said. "But you're very mature for your age. You're also incredibly perceptive. The others haven't begun to figure out my true choice yet, yet you know it isn't you."

"So who is it?"

"I can't say," Tenchi said, leaning against a tree. "I know what girls are like. You'll just tell everyone."

"No I won't," Sasami said defiantly. "I promise I won't tell anyone else, not even Ryo-Ohki."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay then. But only because I trust you." Tenchi leaned down and whispered something into Sasami's ear. Sasami pulled away in surprise.

"Really? Is that the truth?" she exclaimed.

"Really. Now remember, I don't want you to tell anyone."

Sasami fidgeted for a second. "But I have to tell someone," she burst out.

"No you don't. I'll tell them, when I'm ready. Don't ruin the surprise for them."

Sasami was conflicted for a moment, and then sighed. "Okay, Tenchi. I promise I won't tell another living being."

"Good girl. Come on then. Let's keep going."

They walked on, hand in hand again.

--------------------

All too soon, the walk was over, and Tenchi was back at work. He continued to work for another day, before emerging from the lab, carrying a small box. The box had four large spikes sticking up from one side. It was a holographic projector. Inside it was information about the Borg.

Tenchi quickly jumped everyone to the planet Jurai with his companions, straight into the throne room, where he knew the Emperor would be. The Emperor, along with his two wives, was indeed there. In fact, they were in the middle of a seemingly important meeting with the leading officials of the Galaxy Police. It understandably angered everyone when Tenchi and the others popped in without warning, right in the middle of the others.

"What in your name are you doing here?" the Emperor announced angrily at Tenchi. "This is an important and private meeting."

"Sod your meeting," Tenchi replied, rather more bluntly than he normally was. "We've got a much bigger problem than whatever you were talking about."

"What are you talking about?" Funaho asked.

Tenchi moved to the middle of the room and put down the holographic projector where everyone could see it. "This is our problem," he said, turning it on.

A holographic image of a Borg drone appeared, floating above the displayer. It rotated slowly, and then image changed to show one of the Borg ships, a large cube-shaped vessel. It was facing another vessel, much smaller than it was, obviously alien in construction. Sound began to come out of the built-in speakers, or rather hundreds of voices. "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. You will comply." The Borg ship then fired weapons at the other ship, crippling it fairly quickly. It shot a type of energy beam over the entire ship, which pulled it towards and into an opening in the cube. The image changed again, showing a similar cube, but surrounded by hundreds of different alien vessels. "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile." All the ships started firing at the cube at once, but no apparent damage was caused. The cube fired many energy weapons at the nearby ships, destroying most of them and seriously damaging the others. Tenchi deactivated the projector.

"This is the Borg," he said. "Biomechanical drones, controlled by a collective consciousness. They possess thousands of cube ships in their galaxy, and they use them to conquer and assimilate other races. They turn them into Borg. They are relentless, virtually unstoppable, and they're coming here."

"Where did you get all that from?" an official asked. "Surely you didn't record it?"

"I compiled the data from what I know," Tenchi replied. "Trust me; it's real. You must understand. I think we have about a month before they arrive."

"How many?" the Emperor asked.

"One cube," Tenchi said. "A thousand drones."

"Just one ship?" an official asked. "What's the trouble? Our fleet should be able to take care of one ship, right? We'll be fine."

"You'll be dead!" Tenchi shouted angrily. "Don't underestimate the Borg. They are pretty much perfect in terms of everything you can think of. Once the Borg decide to assimilate or destroy you, that's what happens."

"But what can we do?" Funaho asked. "If they truly are unstoppable, what makes you think we have a chance?"

"I didn't say that," Tenchi replied. "It is very possible we have no chance, but we must try. From what I know, Washu and I can construct a weapon to use against them. They're slightly more vulnerable to spiritual attacks that conventional energy weapons. That's why I came here. I came to tell you all that we need every last Jurai treeship out there, ready for their arrival. They stand a bit better chance than the rest of doing some damage."

"What about reinforcements?" Misaki asked. "Are any more going to come?"

"No," Tenchi said. "One cube is sufficient to assimilate a galaxy, or at least dominate it."

"But what about that ship that crashed?" Washu asked. "Presumably that's Borg, but it got destroyed by a meteor shower."

"It is Borg," Tenchi agreed. "However, it was only a scout ship, with ten drones aboard. Even so, if it had landed on a populated planet, instead of crashing on a remote one, it could have posed a serious threat to that planet."

"But surely they have some weakness?" the Emperor asked. "Something we can use against them?"

Tenchi shook his head. "Unless we can persuade them to fly into a black hole, which we can't, there's nothing we can do. I do have some ideas of how we can improve our chances, but nothing major. But in the meantime, you need to start gathering every ship you can, so we can modify it for battle."

"We have about six hundred ready now," the Marshall of the GXP said, "and a thousand more on patrol."

"You weren't listening," Tenchi said, the frustration clearly sounding in his voice. "I said we need every ship. Every single space vessel must be there."

"Wow," Mihoshi said. "That bad, huh?"

--------------------

It was that bad. Washu and Tenchi had retreated to her laboratory to analyse the data and come up with ideas, while the others returned to the Masaki main room, where they sat, thinking about the imminent danger.

"It's not looking good, guys," Aki said.

"Of course it's not good," Ryoko snapped. "These aliens are coming to kill us, or assimilate us, whatever that means."

"Assimilation means we get turned into one of those drones we saw on that planet," Aki said. "And that's not what I meant. I know what Tenchi's thinking, because I can read his mind. He's absolutely terrified, guys. He's never been this scared of anything before."

"Do you think we can help?" Ayeka asked.

"Possibly," Aki replied. "From what I know from reading Tenchi's mind, Jurai treeships, or even kameya-meyas or anything like that, will be effective against them."

"Oh," Ayeka said. "My Ryu-Oh was destroyed. I guess I can't help."

"Sure you can, Ayeka," Sasami said. "You can help lead the attack when it comes. Aki and I can go into space and use our energy to weaken them, and you can finish them off."

"But didn't Tenchi say they were perfect?" Ryoko said. "That's not saying much if they can be destroyed that easily."

"I'm taking that since they come from another galaxy, they've never met a Super Saiyan," Aki said. "We'll show them resistance isn't futile."

"What does futile mean?" Sasami asked.

"Futile means it's pointless, or useless," Ayeka replied. "The Borg say that there's no use trying to fight back."

"I'm glad one of us asked that," Mihoshi said.

"But even so," Aki said, moving the conversation on, "I don't really think there's ultimately anything we can do. I guess it's up to Tenchi and Washu to come up with something to defeat them."

--------------------

As they were speaking, Tenchi, again in his second evolutionary form, was busy talking with Washu, as well as coming up with conceptual designs for things to help them.

"It says here that the Borg vessels use deflector shields at a frequency of 76.295 kilodems," Washu said, reading the information on the screen in front of her. "That's an incredible amount of energy, just for defences. Is there any way we can disable them, so we do direct damage to the ship?"

"Not unless we produce an anti-rem field at the exact same frequency," Tenchi replied. "No ship can generate a field that high, certainly not one big enough to encompass another ship. I guess we can't use that."

"How about their adaptation ability?" Washu asked. "Can't we shut that down?"

"No," Tenchi sighed. He didn't need to sigh, as he didn't breathe in that form, but he did so for effect. "The ability is built in to every part of the ship, and every drone. We'd need to disable a whole lot of systems to open just one part for attacking."

"But what about an energy surge? One that can knock out all the systems at once?"

"It's possible," Tenchi said. "We could do something like that. But we'd need a huge electromagnetic wave, and there's no ship capable of doing that at all."

"Then the regeneration commands," Washu said, moving on to the next item. "Apparently they need to regenerate for two hours every day, to replenish their energy supply. The ship will go into an minimum activity cycle, which is when we could attack."

"No use, for three reasons," Tenchi said. "One: they will certainly not start regenerating during the battle. Two: the command pathways have an equal safety protocol to every other system, which can only be accessed from a console on the ship itself, anyway. And three: it's true that while they're regenerating, they won't fire at us, but they would repair damage faster than we could create it. I think that idea's a dead end."

"Do you have any ideas?" Washu asked, looking over at his consoles. She looked at the schematics on a screen. "What's that?"

"It's a device to attach to an weapon system," Tenchi replied. "It's called an infinity modulator, or I-Mod. The idea came from the Star Trek game Elite Force. It will reprocess each shot it fires with a random different frequency. That way, the Borg can't adapt to it."

"Good idea," Washu said. "Anything else?"

"Not really," Tenchi admitted. "Nothing that can help us. I was thinking maybe we could construct some kind of giant energy cannon, but that turned out to be useless."

"Why?"

"It would have taken several years to construct," Tenchi said. "Another few months to calibrate it, and there's nowhere for the cannon to draw energy from."

Washu thought for a moment. "Maybe it could work."

"What?" Tenchi asked. "I've been over it. It's a useless idea."

"Not the energy cannon thing," Washu said. "I mean converting it into an electromagnetic pulse generator, that can knock out all the Borg systems."

"But it would still take ages to construct," Tenchi said.

"Not a problem," Washu replied, a smile on her face. "I've got a special part of the lab we can use. It's absolutely huge, and it's in a different dimension. I can control the time period of it, so a day outside would be about seven months inside."

Tenchi tapped away quickly at the computer and looked up. "That could work," he said. He turned around and faced Washu. "That really could work."

"Great!" Washu said. "I'll prepare it for construction, while you can design the thing."

"Sure," Tenchi said, a smile appearing on his metallic face. "I'll give it a try."

"No try," Washu said. "It's do, or do not. There is no try."

Tenchi just looked at her.

"Star Wars, right?" the scientist said. "Good films, by the way. Oh, lighten up, will you?"

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

The OB gunship _Resistance_, as it will be called, is under construction. Another thought strikes Tenchi, which forces him to choose a radical course of action. He decides to go off with a dark singularity bomb to pay the Borg a little visit. But before that, Trinity is asked to help, and the reason for Tsunami's appearance is revealed.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Victory Under Construction".


	3. Victory Under Construction

Previously in Apex AZ:

The crashed spaceship was revealed to belong to a highly evolved collective of drones called the Borg. Tenchi, with the only available knowledge of the Borg in the galaxy due to his evolution ability, was terrified by the prospect that a Borg cube was on its way to the Jurai galaxy. He immediately set about compiling his knowledge of the species, and subsequently coming up with ideas with Washu on how to defeat them. Tenchi was pessimistic, until Washu thought of the OB gunship. OB for Omega Blaster, of course. Who knows why it's called that. Interestingly, the ship's name is never mentioned in the main story.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part III – Victory Under Construction

* * *

"Set temporal dampeners to maximum."

"Affirmed."

"Redraw dimensions to maximum."

"Affirmed."

"Map grid lines and access ports as standard."

"Affirmed."

Washu looked at the workspace. It was big. It was her private dimension, with its own special rules. She called it null space, but others would call it empty, which indeed it was. Only a cubical matrix of walkways and control panels spread throughout the interior of this dimension, mapped out according to Washu's measurements of spatial grids, each bar of walkway being a mile long. The largest ship in the galaxy, the Titan-class vessel, of which type the main flagship of the galaxy was, would fill one and a half of these cubic mile areas in terms of length, and two thirds of one in the other two vectors, so occupying a space of two thirds of a cubic mile. But according to Tenchi's data, a Borg cube was five miles each side, occupying 125 cubic miles.

Obviously their own ship would have to be built to compare.

--------------------

Tenchi found something. A program in Washu's database. Curious, he activated it.

A man appeared, created of light, in the room behind him. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency," he said. It was the Emergency Medical Hologram, the EMH.

"Hi there," Tenchi said. "Who are you?"

"I'm offended you don't remember," the man replied, walking up to Tenchi and inspecting him. "I'm the person who saved your life from those energy holes you received from some guy called... Sel, is it?"

"It was, yes," Tenchi replied. "Well, I probably don't remember you because I was nearly dead and unconscious. Don't take it personally."

"Very well," the man said. "An interesting body, I must say, but I still recognise you. Why have you activated me?"

"No reason as such," Tenchi replied. "I just saw your program in the database, and wondered what it was."

"So that's all I am now, is it?" the man asked. "A novelty, a curiosity? Please deactivate me until you have a real purpose for me, other than to entertain yourself."

"Actually, I may have something for you," Tenchi said. "With your permission, I want to download all the information I have on the Borg into your memory. You might come up with something."

"I suppose you can do that," the man replied. "Who or what is the Borg?"

"You'll see..." Tenchi trailed off. "What's your name? It would help if we could call you something."

"I don't have a name," the man replied. "I am merely the EMH program created by Washu-chan. I don't know what you could call me."

"As long as it's not 'hey, you', right? Okay, what about this? Doctor, for now, but if you come up with a name, we'll use that, okay?"

"Very well," the doctor replied. "That is why I was created, anyway. You may proceed with your download, whatever it is."

Tenchi tapped a few pads and the download started. "Oh, by the way. Can you go just anywhere, or is there some restriction?"

"I cannot go outside the range of the holographic projectors in this lab," the doctor replied. "So, I can't leave here."

"Right." Tenchi thought for a moment. "I'll try and come up with some sort of mobile holographic emitter, then. I'm sure you want the freedom."

"But why?"

"We may need you in the upcoming battle."

"Battle?"

--------------------

"Nice place you have here, Washu," Tenchi said, looking round at the walkways. "We should be able to come up with something good here. Is the time dilation on now?"

"Yes," Washu replied. "Want to get started?"

--------------------

And so they did. Thanks to Washu's computer and the inventions she had created, they were able to start construction immediately. They would import the base elements and arrange them together into large structures, mainly support beams and panels. Once the main frame was completed, the complex circuitry and power source would then be designed and assembled. The subsystems would then be created, which were things such as the life support, propulsion, weapon trigger mechanisms and so on.

On the door under the stairs of the Masaki house, which led to Washu's lab, was hung a notice. "Do Not Disturb. Busy creating weapon to save the galaxy." It was fairly straightforward.

--------------------

A day later, and the basic ship had been built. It had taken nearly seven months, but due to the time dilation, the Borg were only a day closer, and none the wiser. It was a huge ship, three miles in length and half a mile across. It was shaped like a giant cylinder, with most of it being the largest gun barrel to exist. The basic layout of the rest of the vessel, the few levels and the generator, were already in place, but the detail was needed. That detail would take another year to sort out.

Tenchi and Washu emerged from the lab somewhere very close to dinnertime. Tenchi was now back in his normal form, and they were both very hungry. They had to give the mega-computer a rest anyway. It was close to melting due to the enormous workload the two had exerted on it over the past half year. They thought it best that they got some rest for themselves, too. To them, they had been working constantly for about seven months, and there was very little to do while waiting for the mega-computer to process orders.

"Tenchi," Ayeka greeted as the two entered the main room. "How are your plans coming along?"

"They're fine, so far," Tenchi replied. "It's extremely boring, constructing a huge spaceship from scratch."

"At least the time dilation gives us enough time to do everything," Washu said to Tenchi. "You've made the Doctor's mobile projector and designed I-Mods for pretty much every class of ship out there, not to mention using your powers to ease the workload on my computer."

"Wow, so much info," Aki asked, walking in. "What time dilation?"

"Well, there's an area in my lab that's separate from other dimensions, one which I can control the time stream of. We can fit about seven months of work into a day here."

"But you don't look any older," Ayeka said.

"Washu can choose her appearance, and my evolution means I don't age in the form I was in most of the time," Tenchi replied. "But now we're just having a break. Mind if we join you?"

So they sat down, resting for a while. They met Ryoko and Sasami, along with Ryo-Ohki after a short time.

"That's a point," Tenchi said, seeing the cabbit. "Ryo-Ohki is organic, right, with spiritual weapons instead of artificial ones?"

"That's right," Washu said. "I should know. I created her."

"Well, I think Ryo-Ohki should be out there to face the Borg when they come," Tenchi said. "The Borg are more vulnerable to spiritual attacks, after all."

"Spiritual attacks?" Sasami asked. "Then, what about Lady Tsunami? After all, she is a goddess."

"Good idea," Tenchi replied. "The goddess of the soul should be able to help a lot. Thanks, Sasami."

"Then how about Tokemi?" Ryoko asked. "She's a goddess too, apparently. Can't she help?"

"I'll ask them both a bit later," Tenchi replied. "They should still come when I want to talk to them, even if I'm not God at the moment."

"I'll sort out a visit, if you like," Washu said. "I know they'll listen to me. I am the second most intelligent person in the universe, after all."

"Thanks, Washu. Wait, second? I didn't think you'd admit that." Tenchi, of course, was the first.

They sat in silence for a bit longer. Tenchi and Washu didn't have anything to do for the next few hours while the mega-computer cooled down, as well as completing some minor tasks. The others, as usual, had nothing to do.

Mihoshi came in, back from patrol. Her ship, the Yukinojo, had parked itself around the back of the house, out of sight from everyone around. Mihoshi sat down and looked around.

"What's everyone doing?" she asked.

"Not much, as you can see," Ayeka replied. "We haven't anything to do."

"I was just thinking about the Borg," Tenchi said. "This coming battle won't be easy."

"But it's only one ship, right?" Mihoshi asked. "If fighting against one ship will be hard, wait until fifty come along afterwards, wondering what happened to the first one."

"Oh crap," Tenchi remarked. "I forgot about that. Even if we defeat the first, there's still thousands more in that other galaxy to worry about, and they will be coming here soon."

"So what's the point?" Aki asked. "If we're not done by the first one, it's going to be the next one, or the next one. You said yourself, they're relentless."

"What are we going to do about it?" Ryoko asked.

"We could blow them all up," Mihoshi said. "You know, go over there and destroy them."

The others looked levelly at Mihoshi, their eyes narrowed and the voices of their minds saying things to the effect of "idiot.". All except Tenchi.

"Fantastic!" Tenchi said. "A bomb! I could take a bomb over there and blow them all up."

"What kind of bomb?" Washu asked. "With their speed, they could escape from anywhere within a black hole, so that wouldn't work."

"How's about an instant explosion bomb, one that'll obliterate anything in the blast area?" Tenchi asked. "We'd need one big enough to destroy an entire galaxy, with a big margin of error."

"I think I could make one of those," Washu said. "That should be easy enough, but what about getting it there? No ship can get there and back before the Borg arrive."

"Instant translocation," Aki said. "That would work, wouldn't it, Tenchi?"

"It certainly would," Tenchi replied. "So that's the plan. I go over there with a bomb and blow up a galaxy. I'll come back, ready to fight the last of the Borg."

"But why don't you do the same thing with that ship that's coming here?" Sasami asked. "Just use a bomb to destroy them as well?"

"I have no idea," Tenchi said. "I guess I'll do that, then."

"But what about all the other people in that galaxy, Tenchi?" Mihoshi said. "Are you going to blow them up too?"

Tenchi paused for a moment, then sighed. "There are no other people, Mihoshi. The galaxy's population is eight hundred thousand trillion. All Borg. That's all there is to it. They must be destroyed."

"I guess it's back to work for me, then," Washu said. "Order of two bombs capable of destroying everything with the radius instantly. I can't really see how that's going to happen."

Tenchi sagged back in his chair. "I don't know about you guys, but I've had it with the Borg for a long time. I just want to get some rest and have some fun. Anyone joining me?"

--------------------

Tenchi spent the next few hours sleeping on the couch downstairs, while the others pretty much did nothing. Once he woke up, he went outside and had a play fight with Sasami, which resulted in the house being nearly destroyed. Once that was over, Washu's computer had cooled down enough to work properly again. Sighing, Tenchi returned to the lab to continue his work.

For the next seven hours, Tenchi and Washu worked for two months, fitting the gunship with all the vital control systems, and some luxury items, like carpets. In between all this work, Tenchi kept himself busy with Washu, trying to come up with suitable designs for the two bombs he was going to use. He also sent a message to Jurai, informing the officials there to gather every single ship, to be ready for upgrading with the I-Mod weapon systems and new defence systems. They would go over shortly and install them.

They came out later for another rest. Tenchi jumped over to Jurai to do some preliminary analysis of the ships already gathering there. When he came back, he and Washu spent the next twelve hours in her lab, finishing everything off.

The gathered ships were evacuated of all living beings, and brought by Washu to the part of the lab the gunship was. Offensive and defensive systems were installed on each one, and sent back into the galaxy, where the crews reboarded.

--------------------

"Again, we meet."

"What is it we can do for you?"

Tenchi looked between Tokemi and Tsunami. "You may know of the danger this galaxy is about to face," he said. "We have little hope of winning, but I believe that your help can increase those chances. Will you help us?"

"Washu, what do you think?" Tsunami asked.

"I'm already helping," Washu replied. "I'm doing all I can at the moment, but as Tenchi says, we need more help. The Borg are vulnerable to spiritual energy, and us lot are the most spiritual in the galaxy."

"But I cannot help with my spirit," Tokemi said. "And if I remember correctly, neither can you, Washu."

"She can't," Tenchi said. "But she is helping by building a spaceship that stands a really good chance against them. She's using her attribute, her knowledge. Can you offer yours?"

"I shall gladly help in any way I can," Tsunami said. "As goddess of the spirit, I think I can offer much help."

"Thank you," Tenchi replied. "Lady Tokemi, yourself?"

"My attribute is the body," Tokemi replied. "I fail to see how I could help."

"We can't think of a way either," Washu replied. "But if we do, can we count on you?"

"I do not think so," Tokemi said. "I apologise, but I cannot help in any way."

"So be it," Tenchi said. "Thank you for coming, anyway."

Tokemi nodded and disappeared.

"What can I do?" Tsunami asked. "My form is a treeship. It is only capable of so much without an owner, like all Jurai treeships."

"Then I think we should get you an owner," Tenchi said.

"Anyone in mind?" Washu asked.

"Someone strong," Tenchi replied. "Someone brave and loyal."

--------------------

Tenchi emerged from the lab, leaving Washu to talk with Tsunami for a while. He sensed around and found Sasami. He walked up and sat down on the couch beside her.

"Oh, hey, Tenchi," Sasami replied.

"Hello, Sasami," Tenchi said. "Sasami, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"I think we should go for a walk."

--------------------

"Sasami, the Borg are coming," Tenchi said. "The Borg are vulnerable to spiritual attacks. Tsunami is capable of immensely strong energies."

"So, what is it, Tenchi?" Sasami asked.

"Tsunami has said that she is willing to help us fight," Tenchi said. "She is willing to merge with someone to help her do so."

"Who?"

"I can think of none better than you, Sasami," Tenchi said.

"Me?" Sasami exclaimed, stopping abruptly. "You want me to merge with Lady Tsunami?"

"Yes," Tenchi replied. "This is where it becomes your decision. I can't force you to do this, and neither can anyone else. You alone must decide what you must do."

"Is she here?" Sasami asked.

"Close," Tenchi said. "She's waiting with Washu. Do you want to talk to her?"

Sasami nodded slowly, shaking a bit. Tenchi noticed, and kneeled down and hugged her.

"Don't be nervous," he said soothingly. "She's a nice person. She looks kind of like you, actually. She can explain everything. Shall we go see her?"

--------------------

Tenchi and Sasami entered the lab, the nice countryside part of it now. Tsunami and Washu were standing in the middle of the courtyard area there, just finishing a conversation with each other. They turned to look at the newcomer.

"You mean Sasami?" Washu exclaimed. "She's the one you want Tsunami to fuse with?"

"I have every confidence in her," Tenchi said. "She's very strong, and I know she could do excellent things."

"Sasami," Tsunami said slowly, walking up to her. "You're uneasy. What is it?"

"L... Lady Tsunami," Sasami stuttered. "I... I ..."

"She's nervous," Tenchi explained. "She doesn't know what's going to happen. Neither do I, actually. Could you explain it?"

"Of course," Tsunami said. "When I merge with a person, we become one. Our body is the same, and our minds are combined. We would become a new person, a culmination of the two individuals. This new person would have both the memories and the personalities of both."

"So it's a lot like fusion, then," Tenchi said.

"It is, yes," Tsunami replied. "We would be able to do together anything we each could do separately, but possibly better."

"What would happen to me?" Sasami asked. "Would I die, just to have some other person exist in my place?"

"If you are worried about this," Tsunami said, "then we could join ourselves temporarily. One of us would remain dormant in our body, and one dominant at any one time. It would be a mutual existence, but it wouldn't be a complete unification."

"That sounds good," Washu said.

"Maybe," Sasami trailed off.

Tenchi walked up to the little princess and rested his hands on her shoulders. "This must be a lot to think about," he said. "Just take as long as you want to think about it, okay? It's completely all right if you don't decide to do this. As long as you're doing what you really want to do, that's all that matters to me. Don't think about anyone else. Just think about yourself."

Sasami just stood still.

--------------------

After some more work in the time-dilated dimension, Tenchi and Washu finally finished pretty much all of the construction. Some things were still left to do, but nothing major, such as vacuuming the carpets and cleaning the windows. Many more ships had already been fitted with the modifications Tenchi had designed, temporarily getting rid of the queue of ships around Jurai. More would come along soon, but for now there was nothing left to do.

Tenchi looked round for Sasami, sensing her energy signal. He found it a great distance away, and high up. Tenchi pulled on his thermal coat and flew off to find her.

--------------------

A blue sky, because all the clouds were below this peak. It was the highest peak on the planet Earth. Mount Everest. A lone figure sat on the top, gazing around at the surrounding environment. An invisible aura rested around it, keeping the warmth in. The figure was huddled over, grasping her knees and resting her chin on her arms. Her long green hair rested on the snow behind her, while her pink eyes looked over the few other mountain peaks protruding from the blanket of clouds that shrouded everything else.

Tenchi landed behind Sasami quietly, and took a step forwards. She knew he was there, but she didn't move.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Tenchi asked.

"Sure. Go ahead. Pull up a mountain."

Tenchi smiled inwardly at this comment, and sat down on another mound of snow, looking at Sasami.

"There's hardly any weather here," Tenchi said. "It doesn't change much." He got no response. "You know, you're sitting in pretty much the exact spot I was a while ago, just after I first became a Super Saiyan."

Sasami shifted, listening to this, but offering no response.

"Lady Tokemi came, just like I've done, and sat down here," Tenchi continued. "She told me..." he trailed off as he remembered what she had told him. "She told me about my past, about how there was an original me and a clone. At first, I thought I was the copy, but I realised I was the original when Aki came along."

"So?"

Tenchi moved slightly. "So I'm saying that this spot here is special to me," he said. "It's where I first found out the full truth. Tokemi helped me, and now Tsunami is willing to help us."

"Tenchi..." Sasami trailed off, looking up at him.

"Whatever you decide is fine with all of us," Tenchi said. "I know you're scared, but it is your life."

"If I merge with Lady Tsunami," Sasami said, "will I still be able to become a Super Saiyan?"

"I'm sure you will," Tenchi replied. "But it sounds to me like this partial fusion she talked about would work just as well. Better, in fact, as it's only temporary."

Sasami blinked a few times and nodded her head slightly. "Okay."

"You'll do it?"

"Yes." Sasami smiled. "I'll do it. The partial fusion. I just want to help people however I can."

"So do I," Tenchi said, smiling back. "And if my helping works, everyone will be saved. If not, I can't think of anyone better suited than you to back me up."

Sasami stood up, as did Tenchi. Tenchi reached out and took her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"You may not be my true love," he said. "But you're the most like me. And for that, I love you the most."

Sasami smiled and rested her head on Tenchi's side. Tenchi wrapped his arm around the princess.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go."

--------------------

"It's just a good thing you and Sasami look so similar," Washu said to Tsunami. "That way, when you fuse, you won't look too different. You have pretty much the same physical form, only yours is older."

"Perhaps it was meant to be," Tsunami replied. "Now that Tenchi has come, maybe we can ask him of the answer."

"He did create us, didn't he?" Washu asked. "Even if we don't remember, we all know that. He gave us these forms for a reason. In fact, we can't have any other form."

"Why not?"

"Because he's seen us," Washu replied. "He knows what we look like, so when he creates us in his future, he has to give us these forms. Otherwise, we wouldn't look like how we do, and he wouldn't have any memory of these bodies. It's all causality. Back in the past, you can do anything, because you've already done it. It won't change the future at all, because the future has already happened. It's just the way it goes."

"Perhaps," Tsunami said. "But I would still like to know exactly why Tenchi gave me this form."

"It's because you're going to fuse," Tenchi called, entering the lab with Sasami.

"You are?" Washu asked.

"Not a whole fusion," Sasami said. "I still want to be me after."

"Of course," Tsunami said. "That would be the best option."

"So what do we do?" Tenchi asked.

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

Sasmi and Tsunami fuse together, and Washu is delegated the task of completing the galactic defence force. Tenchi, meanwhile, finally reveals his heart to everyone, and soon sets off with the two bombs for Borg space.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "One More Final 'I Love You'".


	4. One More Final 'I Love You'

Previously in Apex AZ:

Tenchi and Washu set about construction of the OB gunship _Resistance_, as well as upgrading the defensive and offensive systems of every metallic ship in the galaxy, as organic ships were fine on their own. Tenchi had a meeting with the Trinity, and Tsunami volunteered to help, by fusing with someone. After consideration, Sasami stepped forwards. Good for her. Now we have a slight explanation for the similar appearances of Sasami and Tsunami, without reverting to some kind of sub-plot the author just thought of now which wouldn't really fit.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part IV – One More Final "I Love You"

* * *

There was a bench, a long bench. On it laid many different technical parts and objects, seemingly scattered at random. Amongst this were four hemispherical hollow containers, two of which had parts fitted in them. On closer inspection, there appeared to be a duplicate to every part there. These were the components that were going to eventually be built into the two bombs Tenchi was going to use to destroy the Borg.

Elsewhere in Washu's lab, four people stood. One was God, one a princess, two Goddesses. The woman with the light blue hair was kneeling down in front of the princess, her arms wrapped around the small girl. The older woman's head moved forward and touched foreheads with the young one, both their eyes closed.

"Together," Tsunami spoke.

Their bodies shimmered, as if being viewed from across a raging fire, and Tsunami disappeared. Sasami refocused and blinked.

"Are you okay, Sasami?" Tenchi asked.

"I... don't know," Sasami replied. "I feel strange."

"What happened to Tsunami?" Washu asked.

"I am perfectly fine," Sasami said, her voice deeper. "Do not be confused. I have endowed Sasami with my essence. We share control of her physical form symbiotically."

"Tsunami?" asked Tenchi.

"That's right," Tsunami replied. "You may call me Sasami or Tsunami, whichever you prefer. We are the same person now."

"You don't look any different," Washu said.

"That's because she's sharing my body," Sasami replied. "Her body is the treeship, so I can control it now."

"Do you like it?" Tenchi asked.

"Sure," Sasami replied. Tsunami took over, only apparent through the change in her voice. "We are both fine with this arrangement."

"Well, that's good to know," Tenchi said.

"I think Sasami should be dominant most of the time," Tsunami said. "I can ask her for control if and when I require it. Other times, I can just relate myself through Sasami." Sasami spoke. "That's good. Let's do that."

Tenchi cleared his throat. "Well then," he said. "Now that that's over, we can get on with the other things. Just tell us if you're having any problems."

"Sure thing, Tenchi," Sasami said, smiling.

--------------------

The Borg were still coming, relentlessly traversing the empty space between galaxies, travelling much faster than any space ship in the Jurai galaxy. Currently, they would reach the outskirts of the galaxy in about two weeks.

During that time, Tenchi would have to take the bombs and detonate them.

--------------------

Currently, Tenchi was standing outside, looking over the lake with his friends gathered round. Ryoko and Ayeka were hanging on to an arm each, and the others were sitting or lying on the grass. Aki was having an idle conversation with Sasami, Mihoshi was staring at the sky, and Washu was busy working with her laptop, perfecting the designs for her bombs.

Tenchi cleared his throat and turned around. Everyone looked at him, as he was about to say something. Ryoko and Ayeka let go, moving back to join the others.

"I'll be going to fight the Borg soon," he said. "I won't see you guys for maybe a week or so, so I've decided to tell you this now, kind of to give you hope or something, I don't know. But anyway..."

"What is it, Tenchi?" Ayeka asked.

"I've known my true heart's voice for months now," Tenchi said. "I feel it's time to tell you all."

He was going to tell them who his true love was. Everyone paid close attention, wondering what he was going to say.

"I don't know how it goes on Jurai," Tenchi continued, reaching into his pockets. "I know it's kind of a female oriented society, but I don't know how you've been brought up to think about these things, but here goes. And stay out of my mind, Aki."

"Sorry," Aki apologised, stopping his probing through Tenchi's thoughts. Tenchi had blocked them all anyway, so he hadn't learnt anything.

Tenchi pulled his hands out of his pockets clenched, apparently holding something in each hand. He knelt down in front of Ryoko and Ayeka.

"Ryoko, Ayeka," Tenchi said. He opened his hands to reveal some kind of necklace in each one. "Will you marry me?"

--------------------

Everyone was speechless, not to mention not breathing. Tenchi had just proposed to Ayeka and Ryoko. No-one was blinking, but their mouths were freely hanging open.

Tenchi raised his eyebrows slightly, glancing round. "Well?" he asked. "Will you two marry me?"

Aki, in the middle of leaning forwards to crawl to a closer spot when Tenchi had asked the question, fell forwards on his face. He looked up and blinked at Tenchi.

Sasami was the first one to nearly pass out from lack of air, and breathed in deeply. This prompted everyone to start breathing again, and stop pretending that time had stopped. Tenchi wanted an answer.

Too many thoughts were racing through Ayeka's mind for her to pay attention to any of them. Through these she could see her response.

"'s," she whispered. As Tenchi looked at her, Ryoko cleared her throat.

"Too," Ryoko whispered.

Tenchi raised his eyebrows in anticipation, looking between them.

"Yes," they both said, slightly louder. They blinked and smiled slightly. "We will," they said.

Tenchi smiled widely and stood up, only to be thrown to the floor again by the force of two women running into him and hugging him tightly. The two necklaces flew from Tenchi's hands as he tightly hugged them back. They all lay there, all kissing each other, expect for between Ryoko and Ayeka, and laughing loudly.

While the others watched them, Mihoshi and Sasami with tears in their eyes, and Washu gaping, Aki used his powers to bring the necklaces hovering in front of him, not daring to touch them. He looked closely at them, wondering what the pendants were. He hadn't seen anything like them before. He quickly realised that Tenchi would want them back, and levitated them to the ground near the people pile.

After a while the laughing died down, and the three just lay on the ground, closely holding each other. Tenchi looked round and saw the pendants on the ground. He reached over and picked them up, before motioning to the other two to get up. He stood up and held one of the pendants up.

"This is an extremely rare necklace," Tenchi said. "There's only two in existence, and this is the other one." He held the other one up. "Here." He placed the two necklaces round their necks. They both looked at it. The pendant was yellow-orange, the colour darkening slightly towards the centre. It was shaped like a small flame, hanging down from the head. As they looked, the colours flickered slightly.

"What are these?" Ayeka asked.

"They are firestones," Tenchi said. "I made them myself. They are solid fire, frozen fire. I froze them when I was God a while ago. I was just waiting for the right time. And this was it."

"It's warm," Ryoko said, holding the stone gently.

Mihoshi couldn't take any more. "You're getting married!" she shouted, running up to them, her arms spread out wide. Sasami followed similarly, and Washu hurried up to the others. Aki drifted across to Tenchi and punched him playfully on his arm, as they watched the women talk excitedly amongst themselves.

"You're engaged now," Aki said. He burst into a big grin. "Nice one."

"Thanks," Tenchi nodded. "I know." He smiled too, and the brothers hugged each other tightly, laughing loudly. They joined the other conversation, and none of them stopped laughing until they were sore.

--------------------

Soon, of course, the others were told. Nobuyuki and Yosho were suitably happy for them, and Tenchi's dad expressed his feelings very strongly. Asaka and Kamidake, for quite some time being inactive and guarding the gates at the front of the house, were also glad when they heard the news. When Tenchi took everyone to Jurai to tell Ayeka and Sasami's immediate family, they were all very pleased for all of them. It took about two minutes for the conversation to move along to the wedding ceremony, the plans for which were immediately started. As soon as possible was agreed, but at Tenchi's suggestion, after the Borg had been dealt with. Then there were so many other things to be arranged that it would really take too long to sort out there and then, so they were left for another time.

As the girls were planning and talking excitedly about everything, Mihoshi managed to slip out unnoticed. But Tenchi spotted her. He excused himself and caught up with the Detective First Class some distance down the corridor.

"What's up, Mihoshi?" Tenchi asked, slowing down to walk alongside her.

"Oh, hi, Tenchi," Mihoshi replied. "Nothing really. I just thought I'd go for a walk."

"Mihoshi, I don't need to read your mind to know that something's the matter," Tenchi said. "You can talk to me."

"I just..." Mihoshi trailed off. "When you proposed to Ayeka and Ryoko..."

"What?"

"I mean, I was happy for you, of course, but... I just felt that..."

"I didn't ask you how you would feel about that," Tenchi said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry. I should have thought."

"It's really nothing," Mihoshi said, smiling at Tenchi. "I shouldn't have mentioned it. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Tenchi said, looking straight at her. "I'm sure I'd have felt just the same in your position. It's all my fault, anyway. I really should have talked to you before."

"It's not that, really," Mihoshi said. "It's just... I guess I'm just having a bit of a time realising that I'm not your true love. Or loves, apparently."

"That doesn't mean I don't love you any less," Tenchi said, raising a hand to touch her shoulder. "Not at all. I've always thought you were the bravest person ever, and I still do. The others, they have their excuses, their own specialities. But you, you're normal. You're ordinary. And yet, you still face everything with us, just as though you had your own special powers. That really is amazing, and that's why I love you."

"Really?" Mihoshi had stopped to listen to this.

"Well, it's not the only reason, obviously," Tenchi said. "There's so many other things, but that's one of the main ones."

"Oh."

"Well, I guess the point is that I know you'll do fine," Tenchi said. "And we can still be just like we were before, if you want."

"That's okay," Mihoshi said. "I'll be fine."

"Course you will," Tenchi smiled. "Now, changing the subject. Do you know if there are any toilets around here?"

--------------------

Everyone stayed on Jurai for a while, while Tenchi and Washu talked, discussing various matters. They also talked with some senior members of both the Council of Jurai and the Council of the GXP, discussing battle strategies.

"I think here will be a good place to keep the fleet," Tenchi said, pointing at a holographic display of the galaxy, indicating a point near the edge of one side. The projection was floating in the middle, where Tenchi and Washu were stood, surrounded by the most senior members of both councils, as well as a raised area where the Overseer sat, watching the happenings and taking the final word. All the members were all holograms, projected images of themselves, who were sat in their large offices hundreds and thousands of miles away.

"But that's nowhere near the main planets," the Vice-Chairman of the Jurai Council said. "What could be gained by moving our ships there?"

"For one, it's the side the Borg are coming from," Washu said. "They're going to have to come through us to get to the rest of the galaxy."

"Right," Tenchi agreed. "It also means that they won't go through and destroy half the galaxy getting to us. They'll detect the mass amount of ships there and decide to destroy them first. It's just the way they think. If they destroy our main defences first, it automatically gives them a sense of dominance, and there's no more opposition after that."

"If they destroy us at all," the Secretary for the Jurai Council said. "Who's to say we don't have the upper hand right now? We know they're coming, and you've given us advanced upgrades for all our ships."

"But we don't have the upper hand," Tenchi said. "There's also another reason I've chosen this particular star. It has no planets, no areas of importance. It shouldn't really; it's a white dwarf star. It's already gone supernova."

"Enough with the astronomy lesson," the Chairwoman of the GXP Council said. "Why that star, and no others?"

"All ships must be outside the orbits of all the planets in the local system before they can go to warp," Tenchi said. "It's how it works. With no planets there, you'll be able to warp away instantly if there's serious trouble."

"You've said yourself that the Borg are faster than us,"the Chairwoman said. "Won't they just destroy us at warp?"

"If things do get that bad, I'll get aboard myself and stop them," Tenchi said. "It's called self-destruct."

"Self-destruct?" Washu exclaimed. "You're going to kill yourself?"

"It's the last resort," Tenchi explained. "But I may just be able to make them blow up instead. I'll just use instant translocation. That's not blocked by any kind of shields."

The Overseer cleared his throat. "This is all certainly interesting," he said slowly. "I trust your judgement, Lord Tenchi, as does everyone in the galaxy. You've actively saved their lives enough times for them to believe in your word. You may take precedence over the battle strategies."

"Thanks," Tenchi bowed. He turned to go, but turned back again. "Oh, there's just one more thing."

"What?" the Jurai Secretary asked.

"You're not going to like it, I don't think," Tenchi said.

"Like what?" the Chairwoman asked.

"I want to make a special recommendation for two people to lead the attack," Tenchi said. "Ryoko Hakubi and Mihoshi Kuramitsu."

Several of the GXP Council started coughing violently, while some of the Jurai Council thought for a moment and followed suit. The Overseer had a look of mild amusement about his elderly kind face. Tenchi smiled back at him, as if sharing a private thought.

"Mihoshi is a Detective," the GXP Marshall said. "She is not in a position to command any kind of fleet, let alone the entire galactic force."

"She's a disaster on two legs," the Jurai Secretary said, obviously having heard of her. "The number of bills to her effect received every month is legendary. 'Another energy web gun, please, I lost the other one'. There is no way you're being serious about this."

Tenchi just looked at him.

"Is there?" the Secretary squeaked. This would cost a fortune in repairs.

"She may be a breathing bad luck charm," said Washu indignantly, "but she's also a very good friend. And when it comes to it, I can think of very few people that might be better suited for this. And I mean might."

"Thanks, Washu," Tenchi whispered across.

"Washu-chan, remember?" Washu whispered back, grinning, teasing him even in such a serious situation.

There was general discussion between the Council members about the mere thought that such a person would be considered to lead the attack, while Tenchi, Washu and the Overseer remained silent.

The Overseer cleared his throat again, demanding attention and silence. "I see no reason to doubt your judgement, Lord Tenchi," he said. "As I have already said, I leave everything in your doubtless capable hands. This meeting is over."

There was an upsurge from everyone around as their holographic connections were cut. Only Tenchi, Washu and the Overseer were left.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Tenchi," the Overseer said, getting down from his seat. "It's a big responsibility, saving the galaxy."

"Again," Tenchi replied, walking with him to the exit. "I think we'll be okay."

"For all our sakes, I hope so," the Overseer said.

--------------------

Ten days were all that stood between now and the largest confrontation the galaxy had ever faced, larger even than the few great wars that had happened near the start of the Jurai Empire.

Washu had finished constructing the two bombs. They looked identical, resting on the table in the main room, but for a label on each to identify it as the bomb for one of the tasks. The one on the left was for the cube, and the one on the right was for the galaxy.

"These'll be great," Tenchi thanked, looking over the two devices. They were metallic silver and round, about the size of a football. They were pretty much smooth all around the outside, except for a small panel on each of them, which housed a single button. Washu, in her infinite wisdom had marked these buttons "Blast off". These buttons, Washu informed him, when pressed, would give Tenchi ten seconds to get out of the blast area before it activated, instantly destroying everything around.

They were fairly light for Tenchi, as he found when he picked them up, but Tenchi did have his energy to help him. They just about fit comfortably under his arms, but he found that he couldn't reach his forehead to use his instant translocation technique while he held them. He put them back down on the table.

"Thanks for these," Tenchi said. "I'm sure these'll do a lot to help us, if not everything. If all goes well, we won't even need to fight."

"I knew you'd like them," Washu replied.

--------------------

"Well, I guess I'll be off then," Tenchi said.

He stood outside, the two bombs resting at his feet, speaking to his friends and family. They were all there to see him off. Tenchi was wearing his "business" outfit, which was the same clothing he wore as the Masked Man years ago, but without the mask. A small homing beacon was strapped around his arm, which constantly gave off signals to show his location. This is what Washu would hopefully be tracking.

Tenchi hauled one of the bombs under his left arm and rested his foot on the other one. He raised his right hand to his forehead and began to concentrate, finding the location he was going to jump to. He stood there for about a minute, very still, while the other looked on, slowly becoming puzzled that Tenchi wasn't disappearing.

Tenchi lowered his arm and looked at everyone, before laughing apologetically. "I can't seem to find somewhere to jump to," he said.

"So you can't go?" Aki asked.

"I don't think so," Tenchi replied. "It doesn't look like it. I probably should have checked that I could actually get there before going into all this."

"Why don't you try again?" Mihoshi asked.

"Okay," Tenchi said, slightly wearily. He knew it wouldn't work a second time, but he tried anyway. Predictably, he failed. "I can't even sense where the Borg cube is, let alone a galaxy thousands of times further away," he said.

"So, does this mean we're going to have to fight?" Sasami asked.

"Fight?" Tenchi asked. "I think it does. Unless I can get this figured out, we'll just have to wait, I guess."

"What if I tried to build some sort of amplifier?" Washu asked. "Something to focus your energy even more?"

"Focus," Tenchi mused. "That's it!"

The others jumped at this.

"What do you mean, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked.

Tenchi didn't reply. His body glowed a brilliant white, but there was nothing dazzling about it. The light changed shape slightly and faded. Tenchi had evolved to his third evolutionary form, the one that looked like a more organic Borg drone.

"Focus," Tenchi repeated. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

It wasn't.

"By evolving, I increase all aspects of myself," Tenchi said. "My knowledge, power, skills, and concentration. I'll be able to do it now." He tried, and after a few seconds found a target. "Got it!" he exclaimed. "Oh, wait." He lowered his arm again and looked at the others.

"What is it?" Ayeka asked.

"Just a couple of things," Tenchi said. "Basically, my plan is to go to the Borg galaxy and destroy it first. Then I'll jump to the cube and blow that up, before coming back home. The galaxy should be okay to deal with, but if I can't blow up the cube for some reason, I'll try and take it over. In this form I'm even more advanced than the Borg are. If I take it over, I'll fly it to that star we talked about, Washu, and I'll let you know I'm fine, and how I've done. I'll also try to send some messages to the ships from long distance, using the technology inside me now. I think I should be able to do that.

"I'll be back within a week," Tenchi finished. "I'll see you then. Love you all."

"Good luck, Tenchi," everyone called, as Tenchi repositioned himself and jumped away.

You'd better come back soon, Ryoko and Ayeka thought. You're getting married to me soon, remember?

--------------------

Two days had passed, and everyone was worried. According to Washu, Tenchi would have been able to set off both bombs a hundred times by now. Only two possibilities could be thought of: Tenchi just needed a rest, and was waiting for his energy to recharge before jumping again, or Tenchi had commandeered the cube and was flying it back himself. If it was the second option, it still didn't explain why Tenchi hadn't contacted them yet, but the first option did explain this. It was, after all, many hundreds of times further to travel than just across the galaxy.

There was no way at all to find out how Tenchi was doing. As much as Aki tried, he couldn't detect any energy signals that far away. He struggled to sense people even in nearby star systems; he only managed to contact Tenchi to tell him about the Borg's appearance because they had a strong mental connection, apparent when they had fought the little creatures that bore no resemblance to Gollum, which were sent by the evil wizard Rytel. But that, of course, never happened.

Tsunami couldn't tell how Tenchi was doing either. With all her powers, she still couldn't stretch her abilities that far. She couldn't even sense as much as Aki, even with Sasami's help. So Sasami and Tsunami spent their time instead talking with each other and making sure they were properly integrated.

Washu was extremely busy at work. As well as refitting several thousand ships with new modifications, she was also upgrading another version of her Tricorder, to give it even more range. So far, the range was double the width of the galaxy, 200,000 light years, in radius. She still couldn't detect anything, so she was busy expanding it, as the deadline crept ever closer.

Everyone else in the galaxy was also worried. Just yesterday everyone had been informed about the Borg, the threat they posed and their relentless approach. Even the protected planets had been told, all sixty-seven of them. Earth was probably the worst reaction to the news. Although Tenchi had told some Earthlings about the existence of everyone else in the galaxy, most of them were extremely shocked and scared as news of a huge spaceship landed in the spot where it would immediately attract attention: the lawn outside America's White House. Paranoia swept over the American President, who ordered wave after wave of fully trained special agents to surround the ship and give a menacing feel, hopefully making the intruders go away.

Unlike the other protected planets, which had offered interest and a welcoming atmosphere to the purveyors of doom, Earth was downright hostile. No-one wanted to believe the truth, and the science fiction fans went around saying this was all just a stunt for the next movie of that popular space trekking series. Most of them came to their senses, however, when the visitors finally gave enough demonstrations to show who they really were.

The people who had visited Earth to tell the inhabitants felt that they really shouldn't have bothered. There wasn't really much point in telling them, anyway, as all they did afterwards was shuffle around shouting that they were all going to die, some regularly visiting "religious" buildings, where they worshipped a non-existent god. Tenchi was, of course, the only God around, and no-one worshipped him when they saw that he existed. It all just gave them something to do, instead of letting them go on with their lives as normal, oblivious that they could at any time be invaded by an army, an infestation of alien half-robots intent on killing them.

There wasn't really much point at all.

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

The end of the waiting comes, along with the Borg. Tensions are running high as everyone prepares to battle, and to hear how Tenchi fared with his war against their enemy.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Waiting for God".


	5. Waiting for God

Previously in Apex AZ:

Sasami and Tsunami partially merged, both now possessing Sasami's body. The fusion was made all the more effective by Tsunami's appearance being pretty much exactly an older version of Sasami. That is, after all, why Tenchi created her like that. Tenchi proposed to Ryoko and Ayeka, who both accepted; the happy news soon gave way to the more sinister problem of the Borg. A meeting was held, during which all decisions about the galactic defence were left to Tenchi. Tenchi then left with the two bombs and a sensor beacon, while the others remained behind to await his return. Although why the sensor beacon still exists after Tenchi's evolution when, apparently, his nanoprobes were destroyed in a previous evolution (you know, the same reason as why he had to be healed by the Doctor after his last fight with Sel), is anyone's guess. Just something to think about.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part IV – Waiting for God

* * *

Blackness was there. It was all around them. In the extreme distance, brightly shining stars continued their fusion processes, converting hydrogen and helium into heavier elements. Closer by, another star, a white dwarf star, a brilliant white ball about a hundred miles across, that was burning the heavier elements already there inside it into even heavier ones. It was nearing the end of its life as a star. 

Many millions of miles away, all in safe orbits around this star, were about a thousand space ships, all in minimal activity mode. From the small one-person Striker-class ships, to the huge Behemoth-class cruisers, they were all there, waiting. Waiting, because in about a week, the end would come, in the form of a five-mile-edged cubical ship controlled by a superior species known as the Borg.

/------------------------------/

"Breakfast!" Sasami's cheery calls echoed through the house. "The choice this morning is between fruit omelettes and fried sausages and eggs, with little tomato halves and a sprig of rosemary and/or fried mushrooms. Limited supply only; get them before they're gone!"

Everyone in the Masaki house flocked towards the kitchen. It was raining heavily outside, so Ayeka couldn't go outside, which is where she would have been, standing next to the lake and wishing for some sign that her former ship Ryu-Oh was alive and well, perhaps even ready to help fight in the upcoming battle. However, she made do with standing under the ledge outside the windows, gazing at the mist-covered water.

Mihoshi reached the kitchen first, and took an omelette and some mushrooms. As she sat down to eat, the others came in and chose their breakfasts.

"Good morning!" Sasami said brightly to those she hadn't seen today yet.

"Morning," Aki replied. Since Tenchi was away, Aki had been sleeping in Tenchi's room on a makeshift bed. Obviously he wasn't going to sleep in Tenchi's bed. It was just something he didn't do.

"Yeah, hi," Ryoko said, pouring herself a drink.

Sasami's smile quickly disappeared as she realised that everyone was again thinking about Tenchi. "Don't worry, everyone," she said, in another attempt to lift everyone's spirits. "Tenchi will be just fine, you'll see. He'll come home soon and say he's destroyed the Borg..." She said the word.

"But what if Tenchi was captured by the Borg?" Ayeka asked. "What if he was killed? I can't stand to think about it."

"Then don't," Aki said in a bored tone, fully knowing that she would. "Tenchi said the Borg drones are slow, and we've seen them ourselves. They walk. Tenchi would have to be a real idiot to get caught by them, and we all know he isn't."

"I agree with Aki," Mihoshi said. "We can't do anything to change what Tenchi's doing now. We might as well just trust him, and let him get on with whatever he's doing."

"Mihoshi's got a point," Washu said. "We can't do anything by worrying about him, so let's just stop, and we'll worry later."

"But you don't understand," Ayeka said. "Tenchi and I are engaged. We are to be married soon, and I care about him more than anything."

"So do I," Ryoko said, frowning slightly. "But even I agree that worrying like mad won't do anything. I'm just thinking about the battle strategies for later."

"Oh, that's right!" Mihoshi said. "I've got to do that too! I really should think about it."

"You mean you've not thought about the battle plans at all?" Washu asked.

"Well, yes, I have," Mihoshi replied. "But I've not really made any plans as such. I figured I might make it up as I go along."

"You can't do that," Aki said. "The Borg are the most dangerous beings that exist. We need carefully thought out strategies and tactics to beat them."

"That's only if Tenchi doesn't manage to," Mihoshi replied. "And if that big gunship doesn't work. What are the odds? I for one think that we won't have to do any fighting, because Tenchi will have sorted them out for us."

"It never hurts to be too prepared." Ryoko reached for another slice of toast.

And this was when the conversation died out. They finished their breakfast in relative silence.

/------------------------------/

A few more days passed, and everyone then decided to go to the Resistance fleet and stay there, in anticipation of the impending Borg invasion. Ayeka, in agreement with her father and the GXP, shared command of the main command ship with the Marshal of the GXP. Ryoko, Mihoshi, Aki and Sasami also stayed on board the ship, until the time would come that they needed to take up their positions on their ships. Mihoshi was in command of a section of the GXP's fighter ships, and Ryoko a section of other ships, all outfitted with modified weapons systems, courtesy of Washu and Tenchi. Sasami, who due to her fusion with Tsunami now controlled the goddess's powerful ship form, was preparing herself mentally for the battle by meditation. Aki, though, wasn't suitable or able to be in command of a section of ships, or indeed one, so he would remain on Ayeka's ship during the battle. Nevertheless, he offered his help constantly, assisting jobs and maintenance checks.

Washu was busy at work on the OB gunship, sorting out the final minor problems, aided by a small group of the best technicians the galaxy had to offer. At the same time, she was still working with her enhanced Tricorder, now installed on the main command ship, constantly scanning for the signal Tenchi's homing beacon was giving off. When she wasn't doing that, the job was entrusted to an officer on board Ayeka's ship.

"Sir!" called the officer. He turned round and faced the Marshall. "I'm reading Lord Tenchi's homing signal again."

"Where?" the Marshall demanded.

"Two days outside the Galactic Border, sir," the officer replied. "As far as we can tell, he's now on the Borg cube."

"That means he's succeeded in destroying the Borg central hub. We have much to thank him for already. And also Lady Washu, for creating that galactic bomb."

Princess Ayeka and Admiral Ryoko walked in, each sipping a hot drink. They now dressed permanently in battle gear. Ryo-Ohki was perched on Ryoko's shoulder, nibbling a carrot Ryoko was holding up for her. The cabbit would need all the energy she had for the upcoming confrontation, unless of course if Tenchi managed to destroy the cube before then.

"Princess Ayeka," the Marshall said, standing up to greet her. "We have just received some very good news."

"So, tell us!" Ryoko demanded.

"Lord Tenchi's homing signal has just been detected on the Borg cube."

"That's great news!" Ayeka said. "Tenchi must have destroyed the base, and is now going after the cube."

"That's what we assumed," the Marshall said. "However, since we cannot contact him, we don't know for sure."

"No" Ayeka shook her head. "Tenchi isn't one to leave anything unfinished."

"She's right," Ryoko agreed. "However, I still think we should keep the fleet on standby, just in case."

"Of course." The Marshall turned to his chair and pressed a few buttons on the armrest.

/------------------------------/

Two days had gone by. Washu's enhanced sensors were still tracking the Borg cube, and there was still no word from Tenchi. The cube had shown no signs of changing course. Everyone at the GXP headquarters were getting very worried, as Tenchi hadn't returned yet. They were starting to fear the worst.

Main command operations had been moved to the lead ship at the head of the Resistance fleet. Ryoko was aboard Ryo-Ohki, giving commands to her section of the fleet. As Ryu-Oh's condition was unknown, Ayeka had chosen to be on the main command centre, the Marshall's ship. Sasami was aboard Tsunami, standing nervously in the goddess. Mihoshi was leading the Third Division fighters. Washu, of course, was busy on the OB gunship, performing final checks to see if it was still working. It was their last hope, if Tenchi had failed in his task.

Everyone was really nervous now. According to the latest reports, the battle was due to start within the next ten minutes. That meant the dying would soon begin.

The Borg cube had disappeared, as the sensors that had been tracking it were long-range, and only worked for outside the galaxy. The short-range sensors were scanning for it, but nothing had been found yet.

Ayeka paced nervously across the control deck of her ship. The entire Royal Family of Jurai waited in their respective treeships, clustered near the main command ship. Beyond those, nearly every ship in the galaxy waited, the occupants of which were waiting nervously for commands and signals that the battle was to begin. Sasami waited too, standing inside Tsunami's ship form, watching everyone else through view screens.

"Sir, a vessel is approaching at the tenth factorial of light."

"Identify," Ayeka demanded.

"Unknown," the officer said. "But the configuration is cubical."

"Comms," the Marshall said. "Send a message to Jurai. We have engaged the Borg."

/------------------------------/

The cube emerged into normal space. It was a big vessel, three times as long as a Titan-class vessel. It appeared to have no hull as such, but was solidly built with a framework of millions of pipes and panels, which weaved their ways across the surface, and no doubt inside as well. There was an eerie green glow to it.

"Captain, the Borg have opened communications with every ship," the comms officer said. "Visual contact enabled."

"On screen," Ayeka said.

At first the image appeared to be of a corridor, sparsely lit by green illumination. A person turned from a console in the background and walked slowly up to the screen through the corridor, glancing around. It was Tenchi.

"Tenchi!" Ayeka exclaimed. "How are you? Did you destroy the..." She stopped short as she realised something was wrong. Tenchi at first appeared to be in his third evolutionary form, as he was when he left, but something wasn't right. His right arm, which was supposed to be organic, was now completely artificial, made out of metal. The hand on the end seemed more claw-like than anything. The covering over his right eye was also different. It now passed over his entire eye, instead of just over the eyebrow like before. Other things were also different.

Tenchi spoke slowly. "I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us."

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ: 

The assimilated Tenchi arrives aboard the command ship, demanding them to escort the Borg to the planet Jurai. As the shocked people try to come to terms that Tenchi has gone, Locutus injects Ayeka with some nanoprobes to assimilate her. The Borg then become strangely silent as an unknown force causes them to start regenerating. There is little time left before the cycle is complete, and no plan is useful here. But then, Tenchi wakes up.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "End of Evangelist".


	6. End of Evangelist

Previously in Apex AZ:

The final preparations were made in anticipation of the Borg arrival. Since there was no word from Tenchi as to how he had done, everyone was prepared to fight, but no-one was prepared for what they saw as the Borg opened communications. Tenchi had been assimilated, turned into a Borg drone, and given the new identification of 'Locutus of Borg'. Of course, they'll find a way out of this. They always do.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part VI – End of Evangelist

* * *

"Fire."

The officer sent the Emperor's command to the OB gunship. Washu received the command and activated the cannon.

A single shot, several hundred metres across, crackling with black electricity, tore through space towards the cube. Residual electricity crackled inside the gunship barrel.

The shot hit the defensive shields of the cube and dissipated. It had caused no damage.

/--------------------/ 

"What!" the Emperor yelled. "No damage?"

"No, sir," the sensor operator replied. "It didn't do a thing."

The Emperor sagged in his chair. Now that the OB gunship had an effectively useless weapon, he knew that the galaxy was doomed. That ship had five times as much firepower as the entire fleet combined, and it hadn't caused any damage at all.

"The information we have assimilated from the being you called Tenchi," Locutus said, his image still on screen, "has enabled us to adapt to your every strategy. Resistance is futile."

"We will not allow you to assimilate us," the Emperor said grimly. "It's against our way of life, our freedom and self-determination."

"Freedom is irrelevant," Locutus said, still in the same even tone. "Self-determination is irrelevant."

"We would rather die."

"Death is irrelevant," Locutus replied. "You will be assimilated, or you will be destroyed."

"We will not submit to your rule," the Emperor said firmly.

"Emperor Asuza, ruler of the Jurai people and this galaxy. You speak for your people. I speak for the Borg."

"Then each side has a spokesperson," Asuza said. "Perhaps we can negotiate a..."

"Negotiation is irrelevant," Locutus said. "Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. You will escort us to your sector zero-zero-one."

Washu appeared on the control deck of Ayeka's ship. She had beamed aboard a few moments ago. "Agreed," she said to Locutus. "You may board us, and we shall escort you to Jurai."

"Lady Washu, what are you doing?" Asuza asked, automatically opening another view window to Washu. "We will not let them..."

"End the Borg communication," Washu ordered. The comms officer looked at Ayeka, who nodded to validate the order. The screen deactivated.

"Emperor, Tenchi is still alive," Washu said to him.

"What do you mean?" Ayeka asked.

"I heard that," Ryoko said. Another view window appeared, displaying Ryoko. "Tenchi is a Borg now. He told us himself, once you're assimilated, you're dead."

"But he's not," Washu replied. "If he was dead, we'd be in a battle now. Tenchi is trying to buy us some time."

"But for what?" Asuza asked.

"I don't know," Washu admitted. "To figure out some way to improve the situation, I'd guess."

"That's just speculation," Asuza said.

"Maybe, but that's not all. Tenchi said that the Borg have a collective consciousness, with no individuals. Locutus also said that he was a spokesperson for the Borg. He couldn't be a spokesperson if he wasn't still, to some extent, an individual. Therefore, Tenchi must still be alive."

The Emperor paused for a moment, thinking about this. "Are you sure?" he asked the scientist. "If you're wrong, we'd be letting the Borg onto the flagship of the galaxy."

"I know," Washu replied uneasily. "But I am almost never wrong. Besides, Tenchi would never allow himself to be controlled. He would much sooner destroy himself. He's still in there, Asuza," she said, staring straight at the ruler of the galaxy. "I can feel it."

"I can also feel it," Tsunami said, the overlapping images of Sasami and the goddess appearing on another screen. "Tenchi is still alive, I know it. And I will not let you refuse to try and help him."

Asuza sighed. "On our heads be it. Commander, hail the cube. Tell them we agree to their terms."

/--------------------/

Locutus appeared on the control deck of Ayeka's ship, obviously using an advanced form of teleportation. He looked around slowly. "Micro-organic power core. Adapted weapons systems. Varied crew, inefficient. You will all become one with the Borg."

Washu slowly walked up to Locutus. "Yes, I'm sure we will. But before that, you should come and check out our medical facility."

"Irrelevant," Locutus replied. "Imperfection is destroyed."

Ayeka walked up next to Washu. "Tenchi?" she asked hopefully. Locutus looked at her.

"Ayeka, First Princess of this galaxy," he said. "You will become one with the Borg." Locutus raised his left arm forwards suddenly towards Ayeka. Ayeka yelped and stumbled back. Two small tubules emerged from the finger joints of Locutus's outstretched left hand and extended towards Ayeka. They pierced the side of her neck and remained there for a second, before retracting back into the first two fingers of Locutus. "Resistance is futile," he said evenly.

Ayeka clutched at her neck, gasping in shock and pain. Twinges in her neck and lower face caused her to grimace. Washu grabbed her as she staggered back. "We need to take her to the MedBay, now!" she said.

/--------------------/

The door of the MedBay opened to allow Washu through, guiding the weak Ayeka. Ayeka stumbled over to a bed and collapsed onto it. Her face had gone pale due to shock, and there was a grey patch of skin just in front of her right ear, towards the jaw. Locutus walked in after them and looked around. Three guards followed him and stood rather uncertainly outside the door, seeing the look Washu gave them.

"Activate the EMH," Washu announced. There was a disturbance in the middle of the room as the Emergency Medical Hologram appeared.

"Please state the nature of the..." he started, but stopped abruptly as he caught sight of Locutus. He paused for a moment, before seeing Ayeka. He walked over to her, picking up a medical scanner on the way, and started scanning her. "I take it Tenchi was unsuccessful in destroying the Borg, then," he commented as he tended to the princess.

"Holographic technology," Locutus said. "Your distinctiveness will be added to our own."

"Yes, I'm sure it will," the EMH replied. "But right now I have to take care of Ayeka here." He walked to a console and started to process the information Tenchi and Washu had added to him about the Borg, to see if there was anything he could do.

The skin on Ayeka's cheek began to bulge, where the grey patch was. Suddenly, something looking like half a mechanical spider burst out and stretched over her skin. It was a Borg implant.

"Ayeka, how are you?" The voice took Ayeka by surprise. It was Tenchi.

"Tenchi?" she asked.

"That's right," Tenchi's disembodied voice continued. "I managed to get Locutus to inject you with different nanoprobes, ones that will only construct a communications implant, so I could speak to you."

"You're alright?"

Washu walked up to her. "Ayeka, are you alright?" she asked.

"Think your words," Tenchi said.

"Tenchi, how did you manage to survive?" Ayeka thought. "I thought once you were assimilated, you were dead."

"Normally that's true, but I have a strong mind. I'm stuck in this body, while Locutus controls it. He's trying to get rid of me, Ayeka. He's trying to dissolve my ego. Help me."

"How can I help?"

Washu was busy scanning the unresponsive princess. Ryoko, Sasami and the Marshall walked in.

"What's going on?" Ryoko asked, before seeing Ayeka. She rushed up to her. "What happened?" she demanded.

"Locutus assimilated her," the EMH explained. "It's only a matter of time, now, before she becomes a drone. I can't stop it."

"I'm fine," Ayeka replied. "I'm talking to Tenchi."

"What?" the others exclaimed. "How?"

"Quiet!" Ayeka demanded.

"You already are helping," Tenchi said. "Your presence is making me stronger. I'll try to help, and possibly regain my body. Your implants aren't permanent, nor will there be any more. Don't worry about them."

"But is there anything else we can do?" Ayeka asked.

"Just..." Silence. "Just hope." More silence. "I'm losing my mind. I'll have to stop talking now. Trust me."

"Tenchi?" Ayeka asked, but there was no reply.

"Ayeka, what is it?" Ryoko asked. "What did Tenchi say?"

Aki and Mihoshi walked in. Aki rushed up to Ayeka, seeing the implant in her cheek, and frowned at Locutus.

"Tenchi said I'd be fine," Ayeka said. "He's trying to help from his end, but his mind is being destroyed. He doesn't know how long he has left."

"Tenchi's okay?" Aki asked. "How?"

"We require regeneration," Locutus said suddenly. His eyes closed and he stayed still, as if in a trance.

"What happened?" Mihoshi asked.

"The Borg need to regenerate once a day, to replenish their energy," the EMH explained. "Obviously they need to regenerate now."

"How long will this last?" Ayeka asked.

"Two hours."

"Marshall, the Borg have just powered down their main systems," interrupted an officer from the command deck, via the comms. "What should we do?"

"Nothing, yet," the Marshall replied. "Wait for further orders."

"So that's what Tenchi did," Washu said. "This is good."

/--------------------/

An hour had passed. Once the Marshall had returned to the command deck, Aki helped Ryoko move Locutus onto a bed. Further examinations showed that Locutus, and the rest of the Borg cube, were indeed regenerating. Although the Borg would be fully prepared for any fighting later, they were vulnerable now. At the suggestion of Ryoko, the fleet stood ready, not attacking. Their weapons wouldn't make any difference, even with the Borg defence screen down, as the ship would regenerate itself as fast as it would be destroyed.

The EMH was staring at a console screen, although he didn't need to. All the information was being processed directly through his programming, but focussing on a console was courtesy, to prevent people being worried by the doctor standing in the middle of a room, his eyes flickering every so often. As he compiled relevant information, the others gathered around Locutus.

"I hope he does manage to get his body back," Sasami said. "As do I," Tsunami added.

"We all do," Ayeka said, putting her arm round the little girl. "But Tenchi said we could do nothing but hope."

"But what if he doesn't?" Aki asked. "Once this regeneration is done, we're all dead. Do we have a back-up plan?"

"Always the optimist," Washu said.

"Hey, Washu, don't you have a bomb or anything?" Mihoshi asked. "You know, like the one you gave Tenchi to destroy that galaxy?"

"No," Washu said, shaking her head. "I made that specially. I don't make weapons of mass destruction. Any more," she added. "I got rid of them all."

"We really have got no choice, then," Aki said. "Tenchi really needs to come back to sort this all out. I'd just put a spacesuit on and use my energy to blow the cube up, but from what Tenchi's told me it wouldn't do any good. They've already become immune to my energy attacks."

"Please come back, Tenchi," Mihoshi whispered.

/--------------------/

Another half hour had gone by, and they were no nearer to a good solution. Locutus still hadn't stirred, and showed no signs that Tenchi was coming back. Ayeka hadn't heard from him at all. She had refused the doctor's offer to remove her implant, as then she wouldn't be able to communicate with Tenchi, if he didn't manage to repossess his body.

Still, they didn't leave the MedBay. They cared too much.

"Does anyone want a drink or anything?" Aki asked. "I feel a bit thirsty."

No-one else wanted one, so Aki stood up and turned towards the door. And stopped.

Tenchi had stirred. Around him, his friends held their breath in anticipation, watching as he slowly woke up.

"Tenchi, can you hear me?" the EMH said, leaning over him. He tapped his medical scanner and stood up straight. "Don't all talk to him at once," he told the others. "I don't know what he's been through, but it's probably going to be overwhelming."

"Tenchi's back?" Sasami asked.

"Yes," the EMH nodded. "It's not Locutus, at least, as the rest of the Borg are still regenerating."

Tenchi's eyes opened and looked around. He spotted the group of friends standing next to him. He tried moving, but was promptly restrained by the doctor.

"Don't move too much until you're sure you're alright," he said. "Physically, you're fine, but that doesn't mean you're back to normal just yet." He walked off to resume his other business, always keeping an eye on Tenchi.

Tenchi moved again and sat up on the bed, legs dangling off the side. He peered at his friends and looked puzzled. Then he started giggling. "Funny hair," he said, before lying on his back across the bed. "Who you?"

"What?" Ayeka said, scratching the metal protrusion on her face. "Who are we?"

"Mmm," Tenchi replied after a moment. "Who?"

"Tenchi, don't you remember us?" Aki asked, stepping forwards.

Tenchi got up and looked at him. "Nice ring," he said. "No funny hair. You ring guy."

"He doesn't remember us," Ryoko said, fighting back the welling tears. "How? I thought Ayeka said he was still there?"

"He was," Ayeka insisted. "I talked to him before. But he did say he was struggling to maintain his ego, remember?"

"I think his self has been destroyed," Washu said. "That, or it's just buried so deep within him that he can't access it. Without knowing he has that within him, he won't try to bring it back. He can't access it, so he's just like a baby."

"No," Sasami said quietly. Tsunami comforted her. "I'm sure he'll be alright," the goddess said. Sasami sniffed. "We just need to get him to remember who he is."

"Sasami's right," Ayeka said. "We need to remind him who he is."

"Ring guy looks me," Tenchi said. "I no ring. Why you ring, me no?"

"I'm dead," Aki said. "Do you remember? You fought me ages ago. You were a Super Saiyan. You let me keep my body, because you trusted me to be good. And I was. That ring above me shows that I'm dead. Do you remember any of this?"

Tenchi stared at Aki for a moment, then laughed. "Say-yah-yin funny word." He laughed again.

Aki turned around. "Anyone else want to try?" he asked.

Sasami walked up to Tenchi. "Tenchi, do you remember me? I'm Sasami. I live with you. You trained me, and helped me to become a Super Saiyan. You were always there for me, whenever I needed you. Please. I need you now. Please come back." Tsunami took over. "Hello, Tenchi. My name is Tsunami. I am a goddess. I helped you to discover your Jurai powers. You let me keep my own powers, even though I was fighting with some other people, including Lady Washu here. Do you remember?"

Tenchi shook his head slowly. "You two girls?" he asked.

Tsunami bowed her head, realising they hadn't succeeded. "Yes. I am two people." She stepped away.

"It's no use," Ryoko said. "Tenchi just can't remember. It's hopeless. Tenchi muyo."

"Tenchi muyo." Tenchi repeated. "Tenchi muyo. Me muyo. Muyo Tenchi."

"I'm afraid Tenchi is gone forever," Washu said. "His mind must have been destroyed by the Borg."

"Borg," Tenchi repeated. "Tenchi muyo. Borg." Tenchi frowned and licked his lips in concentration. "Borg bad. Must kill Borg."

"Tenchi?" Ayeka asked. "Are you remembering anything?"

Tenchi gazed at her blankly, before looking towards the door. "Must kill Borg," he repeated. "Plan. Know how."

"He's remembering things!" Sasami said, moving next to him. "How much do you remember, Tenchi?"

Tenchi looked down at the young girl. "Super Say-yah-yin Sassy-me. No." He shook his head violently. "Kill Borg. Must. Borg bad. Must destroy!" He slammed his fist down onto the bed, a slight metallic creak audible from the contact.

"Calm down," the doctor said. "You're over-stimulated. You need to rest."

"Destroy!" Tenchi shouted. He stood up, glancing around at everything in mild surprise. "Get there. Where? What?"

"You want to go there?" the EMH exclaimed. "I can't allow that. Your condition is too precarious to even think of..."

"Deactivate the EMH," Washu ordered. The EMH faded out. "Tenchi, can you remember instant translocation?"

"Tran-what?"

"Okay. Well, I think you could use the transporters. The Borg shields are down at the moment due to the regeneration..."

"Transporters," Tenchi repeated. "Transporters." He lurched forwards suddenly and made for the door. It slid open as he reached them. He stepped back in surprise, but then walked through them, looking side to side. He turned right and walked off.

"Tenchi!" the others called, running to the door. They reached it just as Tenchi stepped into the lift.

/--------------------/

The lift doors opened to reveal five worried girls and an equally worried Aki. They poured out from the lift and hurried up to Tenchi. Tenchi was standing back from the transporter console, which was opposite the transporter pad. It was a large hexagonal floor plate on the floor, and just that. Tenchi was pondering.

"Tenchi, why are you still here?" Aki asked. "You've been here long enough to transport onto the cube."

"I, umm," Tenchi said. "Don't know how this works. Maybe you do it?"

"What were you doing, then?" Ayeka asked.

"Remembering how to use energy," Tenchi replied. "And speaking. I think I remember some of it. I need to get there now. Please."

"No," Ryoko said. "It's too dangerous. You've already been assimilated. What makes you think they won't just take you over again?"

Tenchi held up his arm to make a point, but then stopped and looked at it. It was the artificial arm, created by the Borg and attached to the stump left when they removed his real right arm. He grabbed the top of it and twisted it sharply, pulling it off. He dropped it to the floor. "I am not Borg," he said. He moved over to the transporter pad. "I do remember this. I remember you my friends. My friends help me always. Help me save everyone. Transport me to Borg."

Washu slowly moved over to the console and started tapping in commands to initiate the transport. "Washu, what are you doing?" Mihoshi asked.

"I'm helping Tenchi," Washu replied, continuing to enter commands. "I don't know what Tenchi's thinking of, but he's our only hope."

"Thank you," Tenchi said, smiling. "I know what to do now. Any sacrifice."

"What?" Ayeka asked. But the question came too late. Tenchi shimmered and vanished.

"Any sacrifice?" Aki wondered. "What'd he mean by that?" He looked up. "Oh no."

/--------------------/

Tenchi appeared on the cube in a corridor. He looked round and started walking.

"Locutus, you require regeneration," came the Borg collective voice, spoken by a thousand drones, all regenerating in alcoves throughout the ship.

"No I don't," Tenchi replied, still walking. "What I require is you destroyed."

"We are Borg."

"I'm not Borg any more," Tenchi said, turning into an opening. Beyond it lay a walkway across the vast hollow interior of the centre of the cube. He started to proceed across it.

"Resistance is futile," the Borg said.

"Sometimes," Tenchi said, "it's the one person that can make all the difference."

"We are perfect. You cannot destroy us. Your efforts are useless."

"Oh, I don't think so," Tenchi replied. "I know exactly how to destroy you. And for that, I'm going to use my energy. Something you should have adapted into yourself."

Tenchi flickered his eyes as he accessed the Borg technology within him. He activated the communications port and sent a message to the entire Resistance fleet. "Everyone, pay attention. I am going to destroy the Borg. Get out of the sector now. There are no planets around, so you can get away right now. Do so. Don't question me."

Tenchi reached his destination, and looked around. Reaching out around him was empty space, bordered by the interior of the cube. Only at the centre was there empty space, for expansion after assimilating more drones or technology. The centre of the lone walkway through the centre was where he stood. At his feet lay a round metal ball, about the size of a cannonball. Across its surface was an irregular mesh of Borg technology, the proof that Washu's bomb designed to destroy the cube had been assimilated.

"Do you hear me, Borg?" Tenchi shouted. "I'm going to kill you. Say goodbye to your Collective."

Tenchi reached his one hand forwards, palm up, and formed a small dot of energy there. Satisfied that he remembered how to do so, he made the energy bigger, until it was as large as a beach ball. He increased the intensity of the energy until the ball glowed a brilliant light blue.

"We have adapted," the Borg said. "Your efforts to destroy us are irrelevant. We will remain."

"Well, yes, if I just throw this energy at you," Tenchi said. "But what about if I add it to the energy inside my body? That energy will be enough to destroy you. You can't adapt. You will die."

"You will also die," the Borg said. "Your life will end."

"Yes, it will," Tenchi said. "But at least I've lived a good one. Your existence, as pathetic as it has been, is finally over. We humans overestimate the many, lots of times, but you underestimate the one. Me."

Tenchi moved his wrist, so the energy ball was between him and his hand. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply a few times, before opening them again.

"Assimilate this." Tenchi plunged the ball into his chest. It expanded rapidly, engulfing everything in its wake. It reached its full size, occupying most of the cube, and exploded, vaporising the entire cube. The shockwave continued out, hitting the white dwarf star in the sector. This caused it to unbalance and expand rapidly, destroying any improbable trace of the Borg still remaining.

The Borg were gone. Tenchi was dead.

/--------------------/

As the Resistance fleet was heading back to Jurai at super-light speed, the ships detected a huge explosion behind them.

"Marshall!" an officer announced. "The star has gone supernova!"

"What?" the Marshall asked. "It was a white dwarf. It's already gone nova!"

"I know, sir, but it has done again." The officer checked the sensor readings yet again. "It's now a Class Seven stellar entity."

"But how?" the Marshall wondered. "How can that possibly have happened?"

Aki and the girls knew. "Tenchi," Aki said. He bowed his head deeply. "He's gone." He blinked rapidly, trying to remove some of the moisture building up in his eyes. "We weren't allowed to have friends on planet Vegeta," he said, mainly to himself. "It got in the way of training. But Tenchi came along. He was my first friend." He shook his head. "It's funny. I've never cried before. My teachers told me it was a sign of weakness. Still..." A tear dropped to the floor, followed by another one, and then some more.

"He's really gone this time," Sasami said. "Tsunami, what do we do?"

Tsunami faded from Sasami's body, removing their connection. "You must do what you feel you want to do," the goddess said. "This is your path, and yours alone."

As Tsunami disappeared completely, Sasami started weeping, as did Tenchi's other friends.

Tenchi was dead.

/--------------------/

All elements bigger than hydrogen or helium were created by the repeated fusion of these two elements in the centre of early stars. As the stars died, they expelled their contents across the universe, where, later on, they would join together into bits of dust, then small rocks, then into planets. Everything on every planet was once at the centre of a star.

Born of a star, Tenchi's resting place resides at the centre of that from which he was created. The star child had returned home.

Welcome home.

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

Washu makes a vital discovery, as everyone else is trying to cope with the death of Tenchi. With something forgotten, Tenchi returns and slips into a deep comatose state, fighting within himself to keep his mind. Meanwhile, early entrants to the galactic martial arts tournament are signing up.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Return of the Dead Guy".


	7. Return of the Dead Guy

Previously in Apex AZ:

Locutus had boarded the main ship of the Resistance fleet. Tenchi, trapped in his mind, had talked with Ayeka, and helped to stall the Borg for a few hours. Locutus's personality, what there was of it, then disappeared, to be replaced by an empty mind. Tenchi's empty mind. But after remembering partially who he was, Tenchi beamed over to the Borg cube and self-destructed, destroying everything on the ship and the ship itself, as well as provoking the local star to start a second supernova cycle. The only casualty, Tenchi himself, was the one most sorely missed. He had sacrificed himself to help everyone else without even knowing who he really was. It was that much his nature. That's just too sad. But, considering the title, this episode should see his return. But if it doesn't...

* * *

Apex AZ, Part VII – Return of the Dead Guy

* * *

Ayeka stood staring at the door. She didn't know why, nor for how long. She just stared at the front door of the Masaki house, waiting.

A knock. Ayeka was brought out of her trance by the loud tapping on the door from outside. She moved towards it and opened it. Tenchi stood outside, in his normal clothes. Nothing suggested he had recently died. His expression was firm and unwavering.

"Tenchi!" Ayeka cried, moving towards him. "You're alive! Huh?"

An invisible barrier prevented Ayeka from moving any closer. One of Tenchi's hands was raised upwards a bit, fingers splayed. He had put up the barrier. "Stone," he said quietly.

"Wha... what?" Ayeka said, not understanding. "Stone? What do you mean?"

"Give me your firestone," Tenchi said, looking at the fire pendant draped around the woman's neck. "Give it to me."

"What? Why?" Ayeka asked, clutching it with one hand. "It's a symbol of our love."

"Return it to me," Tenchi said. "We share no love."

"What?" Ayeka said quietly. "That's not true. No. I can't believe it. You're lying," she said louder, bowing and shaking her head, closing her eyes. "You do love me, Tenchi. You do..." She trailed off as she opened her eyes again to look at Tenchi.

Locutus stood in his place. He moved forward, raising his left arm. "Resistance is futile," he said, as the assimilation probes emerged from his fingers.

--------------------

Ayeka woke with a start, breathing deeply and sweating. She lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. It had been a dream.

Breathing easier now, she got up and went to the bathroom. She turned the taps on and gathered some water in her hands to splash on her face. As she reached for the towel she glanced in the mirror, and stopped. Her skin was bulging slightly on her right cheek. Suddenly, metal burst the surface of her face and spread out, as the Borg technology had done before. She stood staring in the mirror as her skin paled to grey. Her surroundings changed colour and shape.

She was standing in a Borg regeneration alcove, becoming Borg.

--------------------

Ayeka woke again, sweating even more than before. She sat upright, but was promptly pushed back down. She was staring at something she didn't recognise.

"Unfamiliar ceiling," she murmured. "Where am I? Is this real?" she asked.

"As real as it's ever going to be," the EMH said. "I've just finished removing your implant. A remarkable piece of technology, I must say. Even though it is Borg, it's fascinating how it works. Scientists could work for lifetimes and not come up with something like this."

"Enough of the admiration," Ryoko said, approaching the MedBay bed, on which Ayeka was lying. "Ayeka, are you okay?"

"No," Ayeka said, gasping a bit as the doctor placed a patch on her cheek where the implant had been. She sat up and swung her legs round. "Tenchi's not here."

Ryoko looked down in sadness. "I know," she said quietly. "We all know. But will you be alright?"

"It was only minor surgery," the EMH said. "She'll be fine, at least physically. I know it must have been a real shock knowing Tenchi did what he did."

"That's not the hundredth of it," Ryoko said, sitting down next to Ayeka. "He didn't even know what he was doing."

"No," Ayeka said. "He knew perfectly well. Saving the universe. He just didn't know anything else."

Ryoko sagged her head down, before leaning sideways and resting her head on Ayeka's shoulder. She reached out a hand and started rubbing Ayeka's arm with it. "The others are all sorting things out. They do care, you know."

"They do."

Silence.

--------------------

Aki was back at his school. He had gathered everyone into one large room. Since there were currently only two classes, alternating their lesson times, there were only about twenty-five people there. Aki entered and walked to the front of the room.

"Everyone, hello," he greeted. "As you know, a week ago, the Borg came. There was only one casualty, but he was perhaps the most important person ever. Whoever he met, whomever he talked to or smiled at, he changed their lives.

"I was born and grew up on planet Vegeta. I went through vigorous training, much harder than you do here. I was brought up to be a vicious fighter with no feelings, no remorse or regret. I had no friends. I arrogantly believed that the Neo Chronicles, the prophecies of God, referred to me. For a short time I was truly the strongest being in the Universe. He didn't use his powers, because he wanted to protect people. Myself, I just wanted to destroy.

"When I found out about him, I immediately wanted to fight him and kill him. It might have been partly because of my Saiyan instincts, but it was mostly because I was so egocentric. I didn't like to think there was someone like me out there. I found and fought him. He defeated me, and I killed myself, cutting my neck with his knife.

"While I was dead I had time to reflect. I was no longer driven by my urge to improve myself and become stronger. I began to think about my life, and I realised that I had the wrong end of it.

"He revived me, gave me back my body. That was possibly the first time anyone had ever truly been nice to me, even though he knew what I'd been like. He put his faith in me, and I never truly thanked him. And now he's gone. I miss him. I wasn't just his clone, certainly not in his eyes. We were brothers, friends. And the last thing he did was to save the rest of us. He's saved the universe so many times; I don't know what to say. I really miss him."

"Master, are you alright?" a young girl asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, thanks, Auria," Aki said. "I know some of you have met him. He was a really terrific guy."

"We all miss Lord Tenchi," an older woman said. "He gave us hope, and even in death he's still with us."

"That's just the thing," Aki replied. "He's not. I can talk with dead people, and Tenchi knew that. The first thing he'd do would be to come to me, tell me he's fine. But he hasn't. He really is gone for good this time."

--------------------

Mihoshi was standing in the Marshall's office at the GXP headquarters, looking rather sad. As with everyone else, she was still coping with the loss.

"Mihoshi, the Council has decided to offer you the position of deputy manager of the Jurai-GXP Confederate," the Marshall said. "It's a good job, and you'd hardly have to do anything. Of course, you can think about it however long you want."

"Marshall," Mihoshi said to her grandfather's successor, "I don't need any time to think about this. I don't want the job. I want to stay at Earth."

"But, it's a great position," the Marshall said. "Very few people have been offered it over these many years. It's a privilege to be even considered for the post."

"Even so, I don't want it," Mihoshi said firmly. "I want to be with my friends, those that are left."

The Marshall looked down. "I see," he said. "Well then, take however long you want off. Lord Tenchi's death was hard on all of us."

"It's not hard on me," Mihsohi said quietly. "It's unbearable."

--------------------

Somewhere on the desk in Tenchi's room, something began to beep. A countdown started. Two hours to go.

--------------------

Washu walked out of her lab, sighing. As before, she couldn't detect Tenchi anywhere. But this time, she knew he hadn't sliced his way through time. He wouldn't have remembered how.

She walked silently into the main room and sat down on a sofa. She closed her eyes and listened to everything around her. She was on the verge of falling asleep, in the mental state just before and after sleep, when she felt that something was different. She woke up, and couldn't hear it any more.

She summoned her laptop and tapped in a few command, putting on a set of headphones that had appeared. She increased the volume of the background noise. And there it was again. She located the source. Tenchi's room.

Tenchi's room hadn't been entered since everyone left to fight the Borg. Washu slowly slid the door open and looked inside. Immediately the sound grew louder as it was no longer muffled by the door. It was coming from the desk. She tentatively walked over and spotted the source of the beeping. It was the Dragon Radar. The seventh and final DragonBall had appeared.

--------------------

The five-star Light DragonBall rested on the table, along with the six others. They were glowing slightly, and pulsating with light. They were ready to be used. The dragon Shenron could be summoned.

--------------------

Aki was sitting down at the kitchen table in his house, a short distance from the MAGI, finishing off his breakfast. He drank the last of his orange juice and started choking.

Washu had appeared in front of him, in adult form. Whatever it was, it was serious. Aki knew that straight away.

"Aki," Washu said. "You must come now. The future of the Multiverse depends on this."

"On what?" Aki coughed.

"On what I am about to do. Come now."

--------------------

Once Aki and the other girls had been rounded up from their various locations, Washu explained what was happening.

"I've found the last DragonBall," she said.

"Wow," Aki replied. "Haven't heard about those for a while."

"No. Anyway, we're ready to use them. We can summon the dragon Shenron and claim our wishes. We've got the password. Now we just need to decide what our wishes are going to be."

"Tenchi," the others said without hesitating. And why should they?

"Of course our first wish will be to revive Tenchi," Washu said, "but we need to phrase the wish carefully. It could very easily get misinterpreted."

"Just get on with it," Ryoko said.

"Right." Washu turned to the DragonBalls, which were resting on the ground outside. "Come, Shenron. I summon you!"

"That's the password?" Mihoshi said. "It's a bit... obvious, isn't it?"

Still, it was the password. The sky darkened until it was black. The balls glowed brighter quickly, and a beam of yellow light shot straight up out of them. The light took form and dimmed, revealing a long green dragon body, with two sets of legs placed at different places along it. The thing was literally huge, a mile or two in length, curled round in the sky. The tail disappeared into a residual glow around the DragonBalls. The head was large, reptilian, yet somehow had human features. Two large spiked horns emerged from the back of the head. The eyes were completely red, gazing at everything around, seeing for the first time the conscious world.

"Now that's a dragon," Ayeka murmured as she stepped back, hopelessly trying to put some distance between herself and the beast. The others were doing similar things, even Washu, who was usually the least bothered by events of them all.

"I am Shenron, guardian of the DragonBalls," the dragon said slowly, with a low growling voice. "You have summoned me. State your three wishes now."

"Shenron," Washu called, her voice pathetic compared to the guardian's. "I wish for Tenchi Masaki's life to be restored."

"As you wish." A glowing ball, surprisingly looking a lot different to an energy ball, appeared on the ground in front of Shenron's tail. It shimmered and faded, revealing a figure. It was Tenchi.

No. It was Locutus.

Locutus looked around, seeing everyone in front of him, glancing between him and the dragon. Locutus looked up at Shenron. "Wow," he said after a moment. "Big." He looked towards the group in front of him. "Funny hair people," he said.

"It's Tenchi," Aki said, stepping forward. "Shenron must have restored him to how he was before he got all his memory back."

"He didn't have all his memory back when he died," Ayeka said. "He just has even less now."

"No," Sasami whispered.

Aki walked up to Tenchi. "Hello, Tenchi. Remember me?" he said. "I'm Ring Guy."

Tenchi shook his head. "No. You no ring guy. No ring."

No-one else had noticed this. Aki's ring was missing. Shenron had revived him as well.

"You are also called Tenchi Masaki," Washu recalled. "I wished for Tenchi Masaki to be revived, so you, and all Tenchi Masaki's, must have also been revived."

"I'm alive?" Aki asked. "I really wasn't expecting this. But save that for later. We need to restore Tenchi's memory, not to mention his body." He looked up at the dragon. "Shenron!" he called. "I wish for Tenchi Neo Masaki's body and mind to be restored to how they were before he was assimilated by the Borg, but let him keep all his memories that he gained from then on."

"As you wish." Shenron's eyes glowed, and Tenchi shimmered. His appearance changed to his normal form. The shimmering stopped, and he blinked. Tenchi looked around, a wild look in his eyes, before collapsing, unconscious.

"Tenchi, what is it?" Ryoko called. She flew over and hauled him up. "What's wrong?"

"Make your final wish," Shenron demanded. "Now!"

"Oh, okay." Washu faced the guardian. "Does Tenchi have his God powers back? Is the curse still on him?"

"The magic used to suppress Tenchi Neo Masaki's evolution to his God form is still present."

"Can you remove it?" the red-haired scientist asked.

"I can," replied the dragon.

"Then I wish for the magic cast on Tenchi Neo Masaki here to be removed and cancelled out."

"As you wish." Shenron's eyes glowed red again. "I have granted three wishes. Farewell." With that, Shenron started glowing a bright yellow and receded into his DragonBalls. The DragonBalls lifted off the ground into the lightening sky, and shot off in different directions, some disappearing soon after, departing into different dimensions.

Washu turned her attention back to Tenchi. He was lying on the ground, propped up by Ryoko and Ayeka. The others were surrounding him. "Hey, everyone!" she called. "Back off. Give him some room."

"But he's not waking up," Ryoko said. "Tenchi, please wake up. Please."

"Well, let's get him back to my lab."

--------------------

They carried Tenchi into Washu's laboratory, where he was laid down on a surgical bed in the experiment section of the lab. Instruments came down from the darkness of the ceiling and started to scan Tenchi. Washu was reading the data as it appeared. The scanning stopped and she turned around.

"Well?" Sasami said. "What is it?"

"Nothing serious," Washu replied. "He's in shock, that's all. He came back from only he knows where, and he's trying to cope with it."

"But why?" Mihoshi asked. "It must have been really bad, if he's in shock from that place. Here must be better, right?"

"I don't know," Washu admitted. "I only know that Tenchi has to deal with this on his own. We just need to give him some time."

"Tenchi, please recover soon," Ayeka said. "Forget about any torment you may have suffered in that other place. Just come back to us safely."

--------------------

In some ways, having Tenchi back was worse than knowing he was dead. He was completely unresponsive. His mind had recessed into himself, and was fighting some unknown battle in his soul. It pained everyone greatly to see him in such a struggle and be able to do nothing to help him.

Tenchi's mind faced another, in the mental sea of white silent noise. No features in this barren nothingness, just endless white. His mind, one of two figures there, was personified by his appearance. The other person, the persona of the other mind, was Locutus.

They stood, facing each other, unmoving, for an unknown length of time. Seemingly doing nothing, they were fighting for dominance of Tenchi's body. Two personalities clashing, hoping for victory. The winner takes the body, the loser oblivion.

Tenchi was losing.

--------------------

Ayeka woke up suddenly. She had spent all night by Tenchi's side. She lifted her head off the bed, where it had been resting by Tenchi's arm all night. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at Tenchi.

"I know you can't hear me," she said. "I know that when I talk, you won't hear me, but that won't stop me from doing so." She looked around the lab. Tenchi had been moved into the garden part of the laboratory, so at least the scenery was nice. "I know it must have been awful for you, wherever you went, but please, remember that you're alive now. You have your God powers back. Use them to help you." A rumbling from within her stopped her. "I'm going to get something to eat," she said, getting up. "I'll be back." She walked out.

--------------------

Tenchi was losing.

It was taking all he had, all his mental ability, to hold the relentless attack by Locutus's personality, what seemingly little of it there was. He wasn't going to win.

Tenchi had heard and sensed everything that had been going on since he slipped into the mind duel. He just hadn't processed it all yet. He might as well look over it, as he was going to lose his mind anyway. He looked.

He had his God powers back. He had completely forgotten about it. He hadn't been able to use it for so long, it just slipped his mind. He had learned not to try to use those powers automatically now.

Tenchi flexed a forgotten mental muscle, and tried it out. Immediately, images, sounds came rushing back to him. He was God again, even only in his own mind at the moment. Tenchi reflected, rather inappropriately, that many people were gods in their own mind, but this was different.

He looked back at Locutus. One small mind now, comparatively to Tenchi. Tenchi's mind was infinite again. It was hard to see how Locutus had caused Tenchi such problems before. Tenchi watched as Locutus was attacked simultaneously from infinite directions, and was dissolved into the abyss.

Tenchi had his body back.

--------------------

Tenchi's open eyes stared at the sky. So many different levels, was the sky. On the surface, a colour. On the next level, digital and hexadecimal information. Below that, quanta. Below that, the Multiverse.

The eyes flickered and looked down. Behind the nose was a body. His body. The eyes realigned back to the sky.

A hand moved slowly, up the body to the eyes. The hand dropped onto the cheek and stayed there for a while, before moving down to the chin, and finally back to its original position.

The eyelids moved, and Tenchi blinked. He risked a more complex movement. He sat up.

"Huh," he said. "Life."

--------------------

Ayeka walked back into the lab, carrying a drink and a sandwich. The sandwich and drink promptly stained the floor, as Ayeka had dropped them. She was too busy staring at Tenchi to worry about orange juice.

"T... Tenchi," she stammered. "You're back?"

"Apparently so," Tenchi replied. He was standing next to the bed, but walked up to the princess. "Don't be so shocked. It was your help that got me through it."

"What?" Ayeka had no idea.

"You told me I had my God powers back, remember?" Tenchi asked. "Just before you left. I heard it, and it helped me win."

"Win what?"

"I was fighting against Locutus, in my mind," Tenchi said. "I was losing, but once I realised I had my God powers back, thanks to you, I killed him. I didn't think about it before, because I haven't used those powers for so long."

At this point, Ayeka's emotional walls crumbled, and she fell onto Tenchi's chest, crying unstoppably. Tenchi wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"I'm home," he whispered.

--------------------

It was later. No precise amount of time later, as the reunions, the crying and the explanations seemed to go on for ages. But eventually, everyone was sitting in the main room. Obviously, Ryoko and Ayeka were sitting tightly next to Tenchi, with the others close by. Tenchi had just finished explaining what had happened.

"So you weren't in shock from coming back from Hell," Aki said.

"Well..." Tenchi started. "No. I'm fine."

"You do seem a little detached, though," Washu said. "A bit distracted."

"Oh, I'm just thinking," Tenchi said. "I've got my God powers back now. That means I could do all my work right now. In fact, I will." He stood up.

"Tenchi, what are you doing?" Ayeka asked. "Are you leaving so soon?"

"I guess I have to," Tenchi replied. "I need to create the Multiverse, then life, and do a few other things, like the DragonBalls. They didn't just appear by themselves, you know."

"But how long will that take?" Ryoko asked.

"Well, the things I can think of should take about three years, but there's bound to be other stuff I'll remember to do as well," Tenchi replied. "I could be gone for decades, or even centuries. I just don't know."

"Centuries!" the others cried.

"You can't just leave us alone for hundreds of years," Sasami said. "We'll miss you too much."

"I doubt it'll take that long," Tenchi said. "But I do think I'm going to be at least three or so years. It all depends on what I can think of to do."

"No, Tenchi, I won't let you," Mihoshi sniffed, grabbing Tenchi's waist. "You can't go. You just can't."

"Mihoshi, I'm going," Tenchi said firmly. "You just have to trust that I'll get back as soon as possible." He removed Mihoshi's arms from his waist and glided back to an open area of floor. Large silver feathery wings sprouted from behind him and wrapped around his body, obscuring him. They unwrapped to reveal Tenchi, now in his God form. He raised two fingers to his forehead in the instant translocation stance, and prepared to slice time.

"I'll see you later," he said, before shimmering into another time and place.

Tenchi had gone again.

--------------------

Later again, about twenty minutes after Tenchi had left, the others were still in much the same place. They had all been looking forward to spending some time with Tenchi, but now he wasn't going to be back for at least several years.

Something happened nearby, but only Aki sensed it. He stood up and walked silently up the stairs to Tenchi's bedroom. He opened the door to see Tenchi sitting on his bed, in a contemplative mood. Aki closed the door behind him and sat down next to Tenchi.

"I thought you weren't coming back for a long time," Aki said.

"It's been five years," Tenchi said. "For me, anyway. What with all this slicing through time, I can choose when I reappear."

"Fair enough," Aki nodded. "So why haven't you come downstairs yet?"

"I was thinking." Tenchi stood up and walked to the middle of the room, before turning round. "When I killed myself protecting everyone from the Borg, I went somewhere else. The energy blast reacted with every bit of my spirit, causing the huge explosion, so I didn't have any energy left. I was just a mind. I shouldn't have been able to continue existing."

"So instead of the normal afterlife, you went somewhere else?" Aki asked. "Did you go to Hell?"

"No," Tenchi said. "I went where I've been before. I was in Heaven."

"Heaven?"

"Yes," Tenchi said, walking back to the bed and collapsing down onto it. "I became super powerful there. I could see everything that was going on in the galaxy, although I couldn't do anything about it. I was there for two weeks. Two whole weeks. Do you know what that's like? Being pulled out of there? The first time I went, I was only there for a couple of hours, but it was extremely difficult to try and forget it."

"Tenchi, I'm sorry," Aki said.

"Right." Tenchi rolled away from Aki and closed his eyes. He curled up on the bed, facing away from his brother. "I don't know why I'm acting like this. I guess it's because I haven't said more than three words in the past half decade, and I've only seen the start of life, and then only for about an hour as I perfected the evolution stages and all that. It's tough, I can tell you, even for me. I guess I've just lost the sense of what it's like to be around other people."

"Tenchi," Aki said quietly, reaching over to touch Tenchi. He stopped and withdrew his hand, staring at the floor.

"Heaven wasn't bad, though," Tenchi said, as if answering an unspoken question. "There're three other people in Heaven, all of whom got there the same way I did. That's by sacrificing all their soul. But now that I've had time to think about it, I'm actually better off. In Heaven, okay, there was no pain or anything like that, but I was mentally mixed with the others. I didn't have a mind to call my own. But now, I have my own personality, no-one else's, and I have more power than I had then. If I concentrate, I can see everything going on in the Universe, or any other Universe at the moment. All I could do in Heaven was see most things in the Galaxy, and that was from a far viewpoint. This is better."

"So, you're alright?" Aki asked.

"Sure I am," Tenchi said, sitting up. He looked at Aki. "I just thought that if you lost all your soul, you'd know now what'll happen."

"Oh yeah," Aki laughed. "I am alive again, aren't I?"

"It looks that way," Tenchi replied. He put an arm around the clone. "It's nice to see you again. After talking to nothing but rocks and proto-proteins, it's great to have a half-decent conversation again. You know, something that responds? But now I just hope everything can get back to normal soon."

Aki smiled at him, as he put his arm round Tenchi's neck.

"Come on," Tenchi said, nodding his head towards the door. "Let's go downstairs. I'll bet the others will be really surprised to see me again."

"Yeah?" Aki said. "Well, I'm not holding that bet."

--------------------

As it turned out, they were really surprised. After reassuring them that he was here to stay now, Tenchi settled back into his old life. The others soon returned to their routines as well. Aki stayed with them for a week, and then returned to his school.

--------------------

Tenchi had jumped to the school a few days later, for his weekly meal with Aki. He entered the MAGI building and proceeded to the classroom. As he entered, Aki was talking with his class. They were a bit late going out.

"Sure it's a good idea," Aki was saying. "In fact, I think I'll enter as well. What about you, Tenchi?"

"Enter what?" Tenchi asked, closing the door behind him.

"Saifer has just told me about a tournament that's taking place in a few weeks," Aki replied. "The galaxy's strongest fighters are all going to compete."

"And you think you'll get a good match?" Tenchi asked, smiling. "Come on. You're Super Two. The next strongest person is Sasami, as far as I know, and she's only a tenth of your power."

"Actually, I was hoping you'd enter as well," Aki said. "I'd like to face up against you again, see how we're doing, you know. Why don't you ask Sasami to enter as well? I'm sure she'd like the opportunity."

"I'm sure she would. Ryoko might want to enter as well, but I shouldn't think the others would. I'll ask them, though." He turned to Saifer. "Saifer, do you know how many places are available?" he asked the student.

"I think about sixteen," Saifer replied. He was perhaps thirty, with blonde hair with blue streaks, and red-brown eyes. He was human, as was everyone at the school. It was a Saiyan training school, after all, and only humans could become Saiyans. He was fairly solidly built, with a generous supply of muscles. Tenchi could tell he wasn't suppressing his power level much. "More can enter, but only the sixteen strongest will go through to the actual tournament. It's judged by a punching machine."

"Well, it does sound interesting," Tenchi said. "Okay, I'll enter. Are any of your students taking part as well, Aki?"

"Several," Aki replied. "There's Saifer, Auria, Lethena, Akito and Karmen. Some others could be entering too, but I don't know about them yet."

"Well, that's good," Tenchi said. "Saifer, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you after."

"Of course I don't mind," Saifer replied. "I'd be happy to talk to you, sir."

"Great," Tenchi replied. "Anyone else entering or thinking about it can come along, too. I might think of a few tips for you."

Some of the class started whispering to each other. Tenchi could hear everything, of course, as could Aki.

"Okay, you can go now," Aki said. "Those who want to, anyway."

Some of the students stood up and walked out, some of those pausing to greet Tenchi. Once they had left, half a dozen, including Aki, stayed behind.

"Saifer, if you don't mind, I'd like you to show me your power," Tenchi said.

"Of course, sir," Saifer said. He hopped to the front of the room and prepared to power up, but Tenchi stopped him.

"My name's Tenchi," he said. "I'm not a 'sir' anything. Just call me Tenchi."

"Okay, Tenchi," Saifer said. He proceeded to power up. After a bit of struggling, he became a Saiyan. He powered up a bit more, and stopped at about level 2.9 million. He stood up straight and looked at Tenchi. "Well?" he asked.

"So that's what Aki's been teaching you, is it?" Tenchi said. "Well, you are strong, Sai. I shouldn't think you'd have too much trouble getting a place in the tournament."

"Really?" Saifer asked. "Thanks!"

"Yes, well, I'm sure I can help you train some more before the tournament starts," Tenchi said. "If you want it, of course. I'll come back tomorrow, if Aki lets me, and we can begin training. I've got a whole different style to this guy over here." He gestured to his brother. "But if you'll excuse us, we have lunch to eat." Tenchi bowed to the others, before going out with Aki.

--------------------

"So you're going to enter?" Aki asked.

"Didn't you hear me?" Tenchi said. He had just come back from Earth, and met Aki at the restaurant. "I did say I was going to, didn't I? And Sasami and Ryoko both want to compete too."

"Are you sure Ryoko will be able to qualify?" Aki said. "I know she's strong, but I did defeat her without any effort, ages ago."

"I think she'll do alright," Tenchi replied. "Ah, here's our table."

They both sat down and scanned the menu. A waiter came over to take their orders.

"I'll have the special today, thanks," Tenchi said. "And the pikka cheesecake for dessert."

"Yes, same here," Aki said. He handed the waiter his menu, who promptly disappeared to register the orders.

"So what makes you think you can just take my students on some sort of training spree, eh?" Aki asked.

"I did say I'd only do it if it was okay with you," Tenchi replied.

"Of course it is," Aki replied. "Actually, I'll join you. I'm interested in this 'whole different style' you have."

Tenchi smiled. "You'll find it is actually very good," he said. "It helped Sasami get a power level of about seven million in half a year."

"It must be good, then," Aki said.

"Well, she does have a highly complementary mind/body/energy relationship."

"So what's yours, then?" Aki asked.

"Perfect," Tenchi replied. "There's no limit to my power now."

"I guess we'll see about that in a couple of weeks, then."

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

Tenchi, Aki, Sasami and Ryoko all begin training under Tenchi, as does everyone at the MAGI school, including Aki himself. They then all enter for the tournament. Most of them qualify, and the first round of fights starts.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Tournament Trials".


	8. Tournament Trials

Previously in Apex AZ:

While the others were mourning over Tenchi's death, Washu found the Dragon Radar and collected the final DragonBall. She gathered everyone and summoned Shenron, the dragon guardian and wish-granter. They used the three wished they were allowed to restore Tenchi back to normal. After defeating the ego of Locutus, Tenchi performed his duties of creating the Universe and everything else. Once back, Aki told him of a fighting tournament that was going to be held in a few weeks. Tenchi was interested, as was Sasami and Ryoko. There seems to be some kind of tournament in any story if it goes on long enough, and this is no exception. I'll bet the ending is predictable as well.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part VIII – Tournament Trials

* * *

The next morning, Tenchi brought Ryoko and Sasami to the MAGI building. The Masaki Academy for Gifted Individuals was located in a fairly nice place, several miles from a small seaside town in the tropical zone of the planet Kormanet. Aki had chosen this to be the planet he built his school on, not least because of Sasami's recommendations, but also because it was on the edge of a secluded area in the Jurai galaxy. That meant few people aside from tourists and holidaymakers came there. As Sasami had said, just after meeting Aki, Kormanet did indeed have many pleasant beaches, and the MAGI was located about half a mile from a private beach, where both training and relaxing would take place. It was to this beach that Tenchi and the students of MAGI, as well as Aki, Ryoko and Sasami, proceeded to, just after he had arrived on the planet.

Some of the students were messing around on the walk, the young ones mainly, throwing small energy balls at each other and flying about all over the place. No harm was done, as Aki had taught them all the vital importance of knowing how to safely use their powers. Tenchi would readily admit that Aki was a very good teacher.

"Not as good as me, though," Tenchi smiled at the professor as they walked. Some of the other students were walking near the brothers, the princess and the demigoddess, hoping against what Tenchi had told them earlier that they would hear some special tips and pointers. The rest of the students, except those flying around, of course, were making their own pace to the beach, talking amongst themselves.

"What do you mean, better than me?" Aki asked, giving Tenchi a playful shove. "I don't see you teaching."

"You'll see me doing that soon enough," Tenchi replied. "Besides, have you forgotten that you're talking to the suppository of all knowledge here? Mr Encyclopaedia Infinite?"

"So, Mr Cyclo, that doesn't mean you know more about teaching," Aki said.

"Tenchi does know a lot about teaching," Sasami said. "He taught me how to become a Super Saiyan, remember?"

"That was a fluke," Ryoko replied. "Tenchi said so. He said he wasn't trying to get you to go Super, just a normal Saiyan."

"Nothing's a fluke," Tenchi replied. "Except how the story of a man being nailed to a tree for doing something slightly different to the rest of the world two thousand years ago turned into one of the most popular religions on Earth. I tell you, more than a few people were a little shocked when I told them they were wrong. You should have seen the Pope. He looked like he was having six heart attacks at once." Tenchi laughed. "Oh, he's fine, though," he added.

"Do you mean Jesus?" Sasami asked. "I remember you told me about him, when I asked you about Earthling religions."

"Yes, Jesus," Tenchi nodded. "In fact, I popped over to see him as I was coming back from doing my work. He was a good guy, and could have become a Saiyan. He was very good at some energy techniques, notably flying and matter manipulation. Unfortunately he really believed he was the son of God. Can you believe the nerve?"

"So he was just a powerful guy, then?" Ryoko asked.

"Sure. Well, kinda, anyway. His only problems were that no-one told him about the Saiyan or trained him, and his superiority complex. He could have done a lot better if he didn't think that."

"But why did he think that in the first place?" Sasami asked. She was fascinated in everything she could find. She was a very curious girl.

"Some drunk idiots came up to him just after he was born, dressed in their best clothes, and told his parents that he was the son of God," Tenchi said. "They got twisted in the stories into the three wise men. Oh, and those shepherds were just looking for a place to sleep for the night. They totally fell for the story. Well, if you think about the state of the world at that time, it's no wonder they were all looking for a higher purpose."

"It's funny how much a story can change a world, isn't it?" Aki asked. "If it's long enough ago, people start turning stories into rumours, then fables, then legend. Hey, do you think..."

"No, I don't think the Neo Chronicles came around like that," Tenchi interrupted. "In fact, I know they didn't. But here we are."

And they were. Their conversation had taken them all the way to the beach. It stretched on for miles either side, all private property. The sand was very fine, nearly dust, and the clear sea lapped up on the fringe of the beach soothingly. In fact, it was most people's view of an ideal beach.

"Nice place you've got here," Tenchi told Aki. Aki nodded. "Shall we start?"

--------------------

Tenchi had organised everyone into groups of two or three, ensuring Aki, Sasami and Ryoko were in separate ones. Each of the groups was sparring or meditating, whichever they felt like. Tenchi was walking around, helping and offering advice to each group in turn.

"Let's see your best moves," Tenchi said to one group of two. Saifer was in the group, along with a young woman with waist-length yellow-orange hair and blue eyes with green dashes. Her name was Tarinia. "Come on. Attack me at once, with all your power. Don't be afraid."

Saifer grinned and powered up to a Saiyan. Tarinia was a bit more hesitant, but she still powered up. She too became a Saiyan, her hair reaching out a fair distance. Saifer made the first move. He darted forwards and swung a leg round at Tenchi. Tenchi just stood there as the leg passed straight through his chest. Saifer, caught off guard, spun towards Tenchi and barged into him. Tenchi staggered back, and pushed him away.

"Come on," Tenchi said. "I know you're stronger than that. Unless you really can't raise your power any more."

Saifer grinned again, and looked over as Tarinia. She nodded, and the two charged at the same time, their fists becoming blurs in the hot air. Tenchi stood perfectly still, moving his arms to clash with the fists. He didn't look like he was using much effort. He wasn't even a Saiyan.

Tarinia hopped back, gasping for breath slightly, watching Saifer's continuing bombardment. Saifer's arms were little more than a blur, as his fists hit Tenchi's defending hands ten times a second. Tarinia looked at Tenchi. Tenchi was perfectly calm, looking as if he wasn't paying much attention to the fight. In fact, he looked a little bored.

"Saifer, try kicking," Tenchi suggested. "Maybe move around a bit more. It's not the number of punches you give, it's where you give them."

Saifer moved, spinning round Tenchi quickly. The gust of wind produced by the movement was blowing sand around a bit. The odd punch or kick came from the blur surrounding Tenchi, all of which Tenchi promptly blocked. He looked over at Tarinia and winked. He then darted forward and thrust a single punch into the gust. Saifer immediately flew back, his stomach the target of the fist, and rolled to a stop about twenty metres away. Tenchi and Tarinia flew over to him.

"I've noticed you haven't been hiding your energy that much," Tenchi said, helping Saifer up. "Is that because you can't do so properly, or can you just not be bothered?"

"Well..." Saifer began.

"Right then," Tenchi said. "Think about this for a second. When you come up against an enemy you're going to fight, odds are that they can read your energy level. Instead of being intimidated by it, they're going to match it, not expecting you to be able to mask it, at least not much. That's going to be a problem when they power up higher than you, and you suddenly find you can't go higher than them. It's always better to keep your power level low, at most 150, so that you'll have more room to expand. It just might give you the edge you need in a fight."

"Thanks," Saifer replied. "I'll take that on board."

"Tarinia's not too bad," Tenchi continued, turning to the woman. "You backed out shortly after you started, even though I could tell you could go on for longer. You realised what was going on, didn't you?"

Tarinia just looked embarrassed and at the ground.

"Don't be modest," Tenchi said. "It shows you're thinking. You just let Saifer here get beaten up, so you could scope my technique and power. You also hid your energy better. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't have picked you out of a crowd for strength. You'd do well to learn from her, Saifer. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Tenchi walked over to Aki's group. The two students, Karmen and Auria, were sparring with each other, while Aki looked on and offered pointers.

"My, you're busy, ne?" Tenchi asked.

"Hi, Tenchi," Aki replied. "I'm just helping these two. I don't think I need the training as much as they do."

Auria and Karmen broke off fighting to listen to the brothers. Auria had light blue hair and eyes, and had no apparent muscles on him. Karmen, however, had dark green hair and red eyes. He had some muscles, but none too big.

"What makes you think you don't need the exercise?" Tenchi asked. "What if I turn evil and start attacking you? What will you do?"

"I'd lose," Aki replied. "I'm no match for you, and we both know it."

"But what about something else? Something just as strong as you, and for some reason I'm away, so I can't fight. If you're out of training, you'd be dead, even though you could beat it."

"So why don't you and I train?" Aki suggested. "Apparently I need the exercise."

"No," Tenchi replied. "We'll save that for the tournament, if we get paired up. But I am interested in what you've taught these people, Aki. Anything about foresight at all?"

"Foresight?" Aki was puzzled. "Why should I have taught them that? Even I don't know how to do it."

"Okay, then. Sensing a short distance into the future, to compensate for slow reflexes."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"Figures," Tenchi sighed. "I suppose I'll teach them that, then."

--------------------

It was now two weeks later. Tenchi had taught the students basic foresight. It wasn't so much a technique for them, but a reflex, something that happened automatically. Sasami already knew that, though, and trained with Tenchi or meditated. Aki learned the technique as well, as he was always looking for other ways to improve himself. He was looking forward to the tournament, and despite Tenchi's claims, he knew they would face each other in the final. He couldn't use his foresight though, as Tenchi had taught them another version of the technique, which only let the person see at most a second into the future. It was sufficient, though.

The rest of the students were progressing well, and due to Tenchi's training, were increasing their power levels fairly rapidly. They were all advancing at different rates, as the synchronisation between each mind, body and soul was different. Tenchi's, as he claimed, was perfect, which it probably was, actually.

Ryoko was struggling. Even though she did have one of Washu's gems in her wrist, and could use its powers, she couldn't become a Saiyan, and her energy was much lower than the others were. She countered this deficiency by drawing on the powers in the gem, which were seemingly limitless, but even so she was still about average with the students.

It was now the day before the tournament. Early crowds had journeyed to the host planet, and then to the nearest hotels. It was a popular event, and the big stadium that had housed the tournament since its start was filled every year. The arena below, a raised flagged square area, was about a hundred metres on either side. This was more than enough space for any normal fighter.

"Is this it?" Aki exclaimed. "It's tiny!"

Aki was not a normal fighter.

"Cheer up," Tenchi said. "At least we can fly, so we can use the airspace."

"But half of the people trying out here are Saiyans," Aki said. "They all know how to fly. It's just not big enough."

"Come on, Aki," Tenchi replied. "Even though it is a bit small, it's still big enough for some good action."

"I guess," Aki sighed. "Let's go put our names down for entry."

They flew off casually to the registration desks. Three desks, with three people manning them, stood outside the arena, taking entrants' details. Most of the people hoping to enter had already signed up, including nearly all of Aki's students.

"Hey, you guys!" someone called as they landed. "Hurry up and enter! The closing time is in a few minutes."

"We prefer the reputation of being late," Tenchi replied, walking up to the man who had shouted at them. "Hey, Akito. Just signed up?"

"Sure," Akito replied. "I wouldn't miss this chance. My teachers all said I wouldn't amount to anything, so they were really shocked at my final grades. I can just imagine the looks on their faces when they find out I'm fighting alongside the Great Tenchi Masaki!"

"I know," Tenchi replied. "It's always a claim to fame, isn't it? Still, I should sign up. I know Aki already has."

"And you didn't even turn around to see," Akito said.

"I know," Tenchi replied. "I'm a bit of a show-off, aren't I, Aki?"

"Course you are," Aki replied, walking up behind Tenchi. "Hey, Akito."

"I'll just go sign up now," Tenchi said. He walked over to the nearest registration desk, leaving master and student to talk.

"Would you like to enter for the tournament, sir?" the man behind asked.

"Sure."

"Name?"

"Tenchi Masaki."

The man looked up. He stopped breathing for a second and rocked back on his chair. "Tenchi Masaki?" he asked.

"That's right. Do you need help with the spelling?"

"No, no, of course not. Everyone knows your name."

"Right, of course. Age is nineteen. Occupation is God. Planet of origin is Earth."

"Very well." He noted it down. "Okay, sir. Your entry has been added."

A beeping sound came from a device underneath the middle desk, and stopped.

"I guess you're lucky, sir," the man said. "That means no more tournament entries can be taken. You got here just in time."

"Well, thanks," Tenchi said, before turning back to Aki and Akito. "Well, nothing left to do before tomorrow. I'll be off home for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Sure thing, Tenchi," Akito said. "Excuse me. I should get back." He flew off.

"Now you want to come home with me, don't you?" Tenchi asked.

"Let's go then," Aki replied. "I'm sure you'll let me, will you?"

"Baka. Come on, then."

--------------------

They went back home, along with Ryoko and Sasami. Sasami cooked a great dinner, and afterwards they all talked. Everyone was going to come along to watch, even Nobuyuki and Yosho.

"Hey, have you heard?" Aki asked. "The previous champion is scared about all of us entering. There're rumours that he might not be in it tomorrow."

"But doesn't he have to enter?" Ayeka asked.

"Of course he does," Washu replied. "He may get wiped by one of the other entrants, but he does have to try and defend his title."

"Who knows?" Tenchi said. "Maybe he'll win."

"Tenchi, you know who he is," Aki said. "He's not a Saiyan. He only won last time because he didn't fight anyone really strong, like us. Strong Saiyans have only come around recently because of us, you know."

"Maybe someone will let him win. You know, a sympathy victory," Nobuyuki said. "He must be really brave if he's going up against Tenchi here. Even Ryoko could bite his head off, by the sound of things."

"What was that?" Ryoko asked.

"Oh, nothing," Nobuyuki laughed. "So are you all looking forward to tomorrow, then? I know I am."

"Sure we are," Sasami said. "It's a great opportunity to show everyone what we've learned."

"Not to mention getting a shot at the prize money," Ryoko said.

"What is the prize?" Ayeka asked.

"I know," Aki said. "Karmen found out and told me. It's just for first place, though. It's twenty million Jurai-coin."

Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi and Ryoko gasped at this. The others were a bit slow on the uptake.

"How much would that be in yen, then?" Tenchi asked.

"About two thousand billion yen," Washu said. "Quite a bit, isn't it?"

"Maybe," Tenchi said. "Well, yeah, it is, but I'm not in it for the money. I'm in it to have fun."

"To have fun?" Mihoshi asked. "But it's dangerous, especially with all these strong people in this year. Do you even know the rules?"

"Let's see," Tenchi said, trying to think of them. He was just making a show of it, as, being God, he could have recited them instantly. "You win if you knock out your opponent, if they land outside the arena or if they surrender. That's it, isn't it?"

"Precisely," Yosho said. "That means anything else goes. None of your opponents will be holding back, against any of you. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Why not?" Tenchi replied. "We three Saiyans are the three strongest beings in this galaxy, let alone the competition. And Ryoko can use her gems, so she has goddess powers."

"Too right," Ryoko said. "It'll be a laugh."

--------------------

A laugh might not be the best way to put it, especially if you weren't a Masaki family member. Even so, every entrant was eager for the fighting the next day. Most of the competitors had restless nights that night.

It was only most because of what was going on at the Masaki house. Nothing. Absolute silence. Well, a bit of snoring could be heard from Nobuyuki's room, but apart from that, the fighters were busy dreaming their dreams, one in particular of a fluffy white cloud.

--------------------

Morning, going against the saying, not to mention the song, did not break. It was only a concept, after all, and nothing can break a concept. It's much like infinity, ideas or good British health service. They're all concepts, but cannot tangibly exist.

The occupants of various houses, hotels and guestrooms all over the galaxy were waking up. Of course, somewhere on all planets it was late afternoon, but by an amazing coincidence, the tournament stadium was in the same time zone as Japan, Earth, despite being on separate planets. Many people had already woken up early to get good ringside seats for the day, and some had even been reserving them since last night.

In the Masaki household, everyone was awake. They all ate their breakfast and were jumped to the stadium by Tenchi, even Asaka and Kamidake, who hadn't been doing anything for at least a year now, and were in danger of rooting themselves next to the front gate. They were very bored. At least the tournament should liven them up a bit, make them a little less stiff and a bit more animated.

That said, they all appeared in an empty room that overlooked the arena. Tenchi had reserved the room for his friends, the nice person that he was. Besides, the first princess of Jurai shouldn't be expected to watch from the sidelines, now, was she?

After they had said goodbye to the others, the entrants walked down to the testing area. This was where the punching machine was, that would decide which sixteen competitors would enter the actual tournament. The rest would then just join the crowd, I guess.

There were a lot of people there. There were the regulars, old favourites with the crowd, and had a reputation for putting on a good show. Then there were the new entrants, the ones that maybe had been pressured into it by a friend, or maybe one of the regulars, or they may have just decided to enter that year. Finally, there were the Saiyans. The large group of students, about twenty in all, all from the MAGI, stood separate from the rest, and were talking amongst themselves. For many of them, it was their first big event, but some had the advantage of having been in tournaments before. The Super Saiyans and Ryoko walked up to them.

"Hey, guys," Aki greeted them. "Ready for it?"

"Course they are," Ryoko said. "You've been training them for the past fortnight."

"That may be so, but there are still only sixteen places," Tenchi said. "And I'm sure Aki and Sasami won't hold back to get in. That leaves fourteen."

"What about you, Tenchi?" Saifer asked. "You're the strongest guy here. Are you saying you might not get in?"

"I'm saying we should just wait to see how we do against that thing," Tenchi said, pointing over to the punching machine. It was a heavily modified version of a normal punching machine, upgraded to withstand the blows. "Apparently it's good up to a punch of ninety million, but I wouldn't trust Aki not to break it." He turned to his brother. "Just go easy, okay? The rest of us want a hit, and you know you're in anyway."

"People, can I have your attention, please?" an official called over the entrants. "Can you all form an orderly line in front of the punching machine, please? This shouldn't take too long if you all cooperate."

--------------------

"This is boring," Mihoshi yawned. "When are they going to start?"

"The announcer said just a few seconds ago that the tournament would start in half an hour," Ayeka replied. "Can you last half an hour doing nothing?"

"Well, I'll try," Mihoshi said. "I shouldn't think it'd be too hard."

"But you've done pretty much nothing ever," Washu muttered.

A few moments passed.

"I'm going to look for some snacks," Mihoshi said. "I'll be back soon." She stood up from the bench and went out of the room.

"Now, I wonder where they keep the snacks," she wondered. "Maybe they're in here." Mihoshi opened one of the many doors along the corridor and looked inside. She spotted a drinks machine in the far corner of the room. "It's a start, I guess," Mihoshi said. She walked in.

As she crossed the room to the drinks machine, she spotted a cloth covering a bulge on a nearby table. Ever curious, Mihoshi lifted the corner of it and peeked under. "Food!" She pulled the cloth off, to reveal a large pile of nice-looking confectionary. She began to load up on biscuits, cookies, buns, chocolates and the like. She then wandered over to the drinks machine and pressed a button. A hatch opened and a drink appeared. She picked it up and started to go out.

"Hey!" came a call from behind her. "What do you think you're doing, huh? That's my food!"

Mihoshi turned round, half a bun in her mouth. She tried to speak, but the sheer amount of sugar icing on the bun turned her words into a snowstorm. She quickly ate the rest of it and washed it down with some juice. "Oh, hi there. I was just hungry, so I was looking round, and I found this food, and no-one was here, so I took some."

"Some!" the man shouted at her. He held up the silver plate the food had been on. The empty plate. "You've taken it all!"

"Have I?" Mihoshi asked. "I'm sorry. Do you want a doughnut?"

--------------------

There was a knock at the door.

"It's open," Ayeka called, turning round.

Mihoshi walked in, giggling uncertainly, followed by the man she had met earlier. "Hi, guys. I found some snacks, but they were his, apparently. I don't trust him though, because look at his face. Now that's not a trustworthy..."

"Can we help you?" Washu interrupted.

"Just don't let her out of this room," the man replied rather angrily. "I didn't become galactic champion of the tournament to have my food eaten by some blonde bimbo."

"What?" Mihoshi exclaimed. "I am not a bimbo. Ask anyone you want, they'll tell you I'm not a bimbo. Hey, you guys. What's wrong?"

The others in the room had quickly started to look everywhere but at the conversation. Some were coughing, but making it look as if they were clearing their throats.

"Well, ask Tenchi, then," Mihoshi said stubbornly. "He'll tell you I'm not a bimbo, just you see. I am a Galaxy Police Detective First Class, with all the initials that go along with it. Hey, wait, did you say you were the champion?"

"That's right," the man replied. "No autographs, though. I was trying to prepare myself for the tournament, before you came in."

"So you're the champion," Mihoshi said. "The one everyone's saying is too scared to enter, because all these stronger people are also in it, right?"

"What?" the man exclaimed. "I'm not scared! The only guy I'm worried about is that Masaki guy. That fight would be a close one."

"Is that Tenchi or Aki?" Washu asked. "Does it matter? They're both far stronger than you could ever be. Hey, even my daughter is tougher than you."

"Is that right?" the man said. "Wait, do you know that Tenchi guy?"

"Of course we do," Ayeka said. "I am his girlfriend, after all."

"We all are," Washu said.

"Except us," Nobuyuki said, waving around at the gate guardians and Yosho. It probably didn't need stating, but he did, just to clarify.

--------------------

While the others became acquainted with the champion, name of Katari, Aki was about to hit the punching machine. The rules didn't allow a Saiyan to hit the thing, so Aki powered up as much as he could without becoming one. He was still very strong.

"Aki, take it easy," Tenchi called. "Don't break anything."

Aki chuckled under his breath, before swinging his fist at the target. The machine, despite being firmly anchored down, juddered back slightly. The cushion on the target was left with a deep fist mark. The reading came up on the display attached to it. The announcer read it off.

"Eighty-seven million," his quivering voice read. "Well, I guess you're in, then."

"I'm next," Tenchi said, walking up. He and Aki slapped hands as they passed. "Way to not break it," he said.

"What was wrong with that?" Aki asked, grinning.

"You could have done fifty million or something," Tenchi said. "Then you wouldn't nearly break it."

"It's your turn now," Aki said. "You break it."

Tenchi stepped up to the machine and looked at it, waiting for the cushion to fluff back out. Once it had, he swung back and hit it. The machine didn't move, nor did his fist sink in deep. The reading came up.

"Two million, six hundred thousand, three hundred and eight," the announcer read.

"Tenchi, that's abysmal!" Aki called. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I'm just trying not to break it," Tenchi said, walking up to him. "Unlike some person I could mention, but I won't, since I'm looking right at him."

"But why that low?" Ryoko asked. "Even I got more than that, and I don't control my energy that well."

"Why not that low?" Tenchi asked. "I just want to let everyone else think they have a chance of beating me. And who knows? There is a chance."

"Of beating you?" Sasami asked. "Not at all. No-one could beat you, Tenchi."

"Then we'll just have to see about it later."

--------------------

The finalists had been decided, and a league table had been drawn up, with the competitors' names positioned at random. Tenchi and Aki were on opposite sides of it, so the only chance of a fight between them would be in the finals. Sasami and Aki could fight in the semi-finals, and similarly with Ryoko and Tenchi. This didn't guarantee any of these fights, though. It was just the way the table was arranged, and it all depended on if the two passed the other levels to get to the fight.

The first match was due to start in a few minutes. The sixteen competitors were in the waiting area, a large bare room, performing some last minute exercises or sizing up their competition. Tenchi, forever helpful, was giving some advice to one of the fighters on their methods.

The first match was between Minako, another MAGI student, and Saifer. Saifer had achieved a machine score of 3.2 million, while Minako was one of the weaker finalists. The fight was soon over, with Saifer claiming victory.

Next was Tenchi's match with a Daimarian called Qeltor. Qeltor was one of the stronger fighters, according to the punching machine. Since he wasn't human, he couldn't be a Saiyan, but he was strong enough anyway.

The two stepped into the arena to the roars of the crowd.

"Excuse me," Qeltor said to Tenchi, his voice barely carrying. "Would it be wise for me to surrender now, instead of being destroyed by you?"

"What?" Tenchi replied. "I'm not going to destroy you. In fact, I have a sort of pact with myself. I'm not going to raise my power higher than my opponent, so there is a real possibility that you could win. Do you still want to quit?"

"Do you mean it?" Qeltor asked.

"Of course I do," Tenchi said. "I always keep my promise."

They reached their positions and stopped, turning to face each other. They awaited the signal to start. A gong sounded. The fight had started.

--------------------

Qeltor powered up, his light blue skin becoming darker. It was the Daimarian fighting mode, much like the Saiyan was for humans. The colour change stopped and Qeltor snapped to a fighting stance. Tenchi also crouched down, ready to fight.

"Come," Qeltor said.

"Hai," Tenchi replied. He ran forwards, swinging a fist around at his opponent. Qeltor spun around and blocked Tenchi's fist as it moved towards him from behind. The afterimage of Tenchi faded. They then started to throw punch after punch at each other, matching their opponent equally. Their fists started glowing with energy as they collided, sparks flying off as they flew through the air.

"Qeltor," Tenchi called as they fought. "Can you fly?"

"No," Qeltor replied. "I don't know how."

"I like honest people," Tenchi replied. "I'll teach you afterwards, if you like. You can certainly learn it."

"Will you? I thank you."

Tenchi smiled at him, before moving a foot forwards to behind Qeltor's leg. He placed it on the ground and continued punching. He suddenly jerked his foot back, causing Qeltor to lose his balance. Tenchi used the opportunity to deal some kicks, sending him soaring up into the air. He came falling down, but Tenchi's energy field prevented a hard impact. They fought again.

Aki was watching all this from the side, as were the other competitors. "I don't understand it," Aki said to himself. "Tenchi is immensely more powerful than this guy is. Why is he fighting so hard?" A stray energy shot flew at Aki around now. Aki deflected it without moving at all. "He should be wiping the sweat off someone else's face with Qeltor by now," Aki said.

A good kick caught Tenchi by surprise, sending him tumbling across the arena. His energy dropped drastically, and once he came to a stop, he didn't move.

Qeltor ran up to him. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I didn't mean..."

An energy wave caught him in the face as he was leaning over. Tenchi was faking it. Qeltor was sent keeling back across the ground towards the edge of the arena. He slid to a stop, his head dangling over the side. Tenchi walked up to him.

"Got ya," Tenchi smiled. "Want to go out now?"

"You're giving me a choice?" Qeltor asked, looking up.

"Sure I am," Tenchi replied. "Why not? Well?"

"I can't win this, can I?" Qeltor asked.

"Possibly against me, you could," Tenchi replied. "But as for my brother Aki, he won't hold anything back. He wouldn't kill you, obviously, but he would easily defeat you."

Qeltor stood up. Aside from a few scrapes, his blue skin looked fine. "I guess I'll leave this, then," he said, hopping back off the arena. He landed on the ground next to it, and lost.

"But why'd you quit?" Tenchi asked, crouching down to him, speaking over the announcer's voice. "You could have gone on for a lot longer."

"Because I know it's pointless fighting a battle I know I can't win," Qeltor replied. "Odds are you were going to win, and even if I did, Aki would surely have beaten me up. This way, I get to keep my blood on the inside."

"I think I get you," Tenchi replied. "But I'm not sure. Anyway, it was a good fight. Well done."

"And you. It was an honour to fight against you."

Tenchi hopped down and shook Qeltor's hand, before they both proceeded back to the waiting area. Tenchi spoke to Qeltor. "I'll find you some time, Qel, to teach you how to fly. Is that okay?"

"Sure it is," Qeltor replied. "Would you be willing to teach some friends of mine as well?"

"Course I will," Tenchi said. "You know me. I'm always willing to help out people."

They waved farewell as Qeltor proceeded to the stands to watch the rest of the fighting. Tenchi walked over to Aki, who he knew had some questions.

"So what was all that about, Ten?" Aki asked.

"You wouldn't understand," Tenchi replied. "I'm being nice. I don't mean it like that," he added hurriedly. "I'm just letting them have a real chance, that's all. Not to mention giving the audience a show."

"Well," Aki said. "I just hope you don't do that against me. I want a fight."

"If I get to the finals," Tenchi said.

--------------------

The third fight started. The two competitors weren't human, but they were strong, two of the stronger entrants of the tournament. Xandin was Samentosian, with a tall thin figure, nearly white skin and large black eyes. Although he was a good warrior, he also used strong magic abilities as well to help him overcome his opponent. His opponent was Taurit, a Tchimenian. She looked almost human, except for the long twin tails protruding from the back of her waist. Her long brown hair draped over her shoulders was wrapped in three plaits with red ribbons. Her two tails, one higher up than the other, were also wrapped in red ribbons.

As the fight went on, it was clear that Taurit was stronger, although Xandin was using his magical abilities to increase his power and suppress Taurit to a degree. The finishing blow was when Taurit rushed behind Xandin and bound his arms with her tails. She then picked him up and threw him out of the arena. Xandin, unable to stop himself, landed on the ground and tumbled to a halt, just before hitting the side rail that separated the audience from the competitors.

As those two went back to the waiting area to rest or talk to some others, the next two entrants came out and proceeded to the arena. They were Auria and Ryoko. Auria was a Saiyan, going to the MAGI, but was one of the weaker competitors there. Ryoko was a demigoddess, with some of her mother's powers in her gem. Despite that, they were fairly even in strength. It all came down to strategy.

The fight commenced. Auria's blue hair became black as he became a Saiyan, and his blue eyes also darkened. His muscles grew bigger as he gained strength.

Ryoko flew at him as he powered up, hoping to catch him off guard. The plan worked, as her punch sent Auria keeling back. Auria caught himself as he fell, and flew over to another part of the arena to continue powering up. He nearly finished when Ryoko made another attack. He defended himself and threw a small energy blast at her. Ryoko, unable to deflect it, was stunned as it hit her. No real damage was caused, but Ryoko had to pause to gather her senses for a moment. As Auria finished powering up, Ryoko disappeared, masking her body and energy signal. Auria looked around for her, unable to find her.

Ryoko reappeared behind him, ready to attack, but since that's the same strategy as everyone else, Auria was ready for it. He ducked the energy blast and swung a leg around behind him. Ryoko tripped and landed on her back, only to roll to one side as a fist came down at her. She disappeared again.

Auria backed away to the side of the arena, thinking she wouldn't attack from behind with such little space to move. He readied himself for the next bit of fighting.

Ryoko appeared, crouched on the ground next to him and a leg stuck out. She swung her leg behind him and tripped him. As Auria fell back, Ryoko swung her other leg and kicked him down. He bounced off the corner of the arena and managed to hook a leg on it, to stop him hitting the ground and losing. Since the corner had caught rather sharply with his back, he was too busy dealing with the pain to think about flying.

Ryoko walked up to the leg protruding over the side and crouched down next to it. "Bye," she said, before shoving it off. Auria fell to the ground, hitting his head on the floor below. He stumbled up, clutching at his head, and walked off to the waiting area. Ryoko followed him.

Tenchi ran out to meet Auria. "Auria, are you okay?" he asked. "That looked like a nasty bang."

"I'm fine," Auria replied. "It's just a bit sore."

"Still, I'll look at it," Tenchi said. He looked over at Ryoko. "Well done, Ryoko," he said. "Next round, then. Think you'll do well?"

"I don't know," Ryoko replied. "That Taurit does seem quite good."

"She is stronger than you, you know," Aki said. They had reached the waiting area. "She's a really good fighter, with very good techniques. Do you think you can take her?"

Tenchi put his hand to Auria's head and began to heal it. "That is true, Ryoko. It's not that I don't think you stand a chance, but she is in a different level to you. You could get seriously hurt. Do you really want to compete?"

"I'll give it a shot, I guess," Ryoko said. Her attitude had changed a lot over the years. She wasn't as arrogant as before, and more able to comprehend her own weaknesses. "I can always quit if I get into real trouble."

"Done," Tenchi said. He rested his hand on Auria's shoulder. "That was a good show you put up. I suppose you just need the extra training for next year's tournament."

"Oh, I will," Auria replied. "Thanks, Tenchi. I owe you one."

"Forget about it," Tenchi replied. "Really."

"I'll see you later, if I can find you," Auria said. "I'll just be in the audience."

"See you then," Tenchi waved.

--------------------

The next fight was between Lethena and Akito, both Saiyans from the MAGI. Lethena was about twenty-two, with short dark pink hair and light brown eyes. She was attractive in many ways, and was a high scorer at the punching machine, with a score of nearly 3 million. Akito, the man Tenchi and Aki had met when they were signing up for the tournament, was a fine muscular man, with short brown hair and nearly black eyes. He wouldn't have stood out of any Earthling crowd. He had got a punching score of around 3 million as well, so the fight would be an interesting one. In other stories, as the fighters weren't main characters, little description of the fight would be given.

Having said that, Lethena won. Akito could have been weaker than he was because he felt guilty about fighting a woman, or maybe he was attracted to her. Whatever reason, Akito walked back to the waiting area, exchanged a few words with some of the people there, and walked off to join the audience. Lethena sat down on a bench and sipped a drink, smiling inwardly at her victory.

The fight after that was between Syan and Sasami. Syan was of the same species as Taurit, so he also had two long tails, and had short brown hair. Sasami was one of the three Super Saiyans in the tournament, or indeed ever, so she had a great advantage. She had achieved a score of just over 8 million. It was obvious to everyone what the outcome would be.

And sure enough, just before the start of the fight, Syan backed down and forfeited his place. Sasami was disappointed that she didn't get to fight, and show everyone what she was capable of, but her place in the next round was assured.

The seventh fight was between Aki and a Kuan called Duroctosaminkan. Duroc, his nickname, was a large person, nearly three metres tall, with silver skin and few features on his body. It was as if someone had done a rough sketch of him, and just never filled out the details. Duroc had a score of 2.1 million, and was the weakest competitor in the tournament. Aki would, and did, defeat him easily and without any effort.

The last of the first round fights was between Tarinia and Karmen, both Saiyans from the MAGI. Tarinia was a young woman with waist-length yellow-orange hair and blue eyes with green dashes. She was the woman in Saifer's group when Tenchi was training them at the beach two weeks ago. Karmen had dark green hair and red eyes, with some muscles. He was the one in Aki's group during the training. They were both fairly strong compared to the other fighters there, but eventually Tarinia won, by wearing down her opponent and dumping him out of the arena.

There was now a free half-hour, during which the second round combatants could rest and regain their strength. The quarterfinals were going to be even tougher, as only the stronger fighters would have qualified.

--------------------

Meanwhile, in the observation room, the extended Masaki family, minus the fighters, were talking to each other about the fights they had seen.

"So who do you think is going to get into the finals?" Mihoshi asked.

"If you want my opinion, Tenchi and Aki will make it to the finals," Yosho said. "They're both much stronger than the others, but even though Tenchi appears to be holding back against his opponents, he'll still make it through."

"Which fighters are in the quarter-finals anyway?" Ayeka asked. "I can't quite remember."

Washu summoned her computer, as she often did, and brought up a screen, displaying the names of the fighters in the next round.

Saifer v. Tenchi.

Taurit v. Ryoko.

Lethena v. Sasami.

Aki v. Tarinia.

"Thank you," Ayeka replied. "Though while there is no doubt that Tenchi and Aki will go through to the semi-finals, the question is who else will go through."

"Ryoko's a tough woman," Nobuyuki said. "I know she'll win her next fight."

"Now, I don't think so," Washu replied. "Her opponent is very strong, probably more so than she is. As well as that, Taurit appears to have many strategies and techniques. With Ryoko, it's just blast and fly around. I don't think she'll make it through."

"Well, Ryoko does need to come up with some better tactics," Ayeka said. "Anyone watching her for a few minutes will know all her moves."

"What do you think, Asaka?" Kamidake asked his wooden companion. "Do you think Princess Sasami will make it through to the next round?"

"Of course she will," Asaka replied. "You've heard Lord Tenchi say that she is the third strongest person in the galaxy by far. And her opponent, Lethena, doesn't seem too remarkable."

"Even the weakest person here doesn't seem too remarkable," Kamidake said. "And yet, they are still far stronger than we are."

"What are you two talking about?" Ayeka said.

But at that moment, Tenchi, Ryoko, Sasami and Aki walked in.

"Hey, everyone," Sasami said. "What d'ya think?"

"Oh, hey, Sasami," Mihoshi replied. "You're doing very well, aren't you? You could go all the way and win."

"I don't know," Aki replied. "She'll have to face me in the semi-finals, and I'm not going to go easy on her because she's a kid."

"I'm twelve," Sasami said indignantly. "Not a kid. But I haven't been training for as long as you have, so of course you're stronger."

"I'm thirsty," Tenchi announced. "Are there any drinks around here?"

"There's a drinks machine in the next room," Mihoshi said. "But I don't think you'll be able to use it. The man in there didn't like it when I had one."

"The man didn't like it when you took all the food," Washu replied.

"He's the previous champion of this tournament, isn't he?" Ayeka asked.

"You mean Katari is next door?" Aki asked.

"You know his name, then?" said Ryoko.

"Sure I do," Aki replied. "He's a weakling, really, and he only won because he didn't face anyone good enough. Until we Saiyans came along, he actually probably was the strongest one in the tournament, but now he doesn't compare."

"So why isn't he in the tournament?" Tenchi asked. "Even if he's not strong, doesn't he get some sort of free place?"

"It's only the strongest ones that get in," Ryoko replied. "He did go for the punching machine like all of us, but he just wasn't strong enough."

"Although," Washu said, "he does have a match against the winner of the tournament. The winner of that is the new champion."

"I see," Tenchi said. "Still, he may still win, right?"

"How's that?" Mihoshi asked.

"I don't know," Tenchi said. "But he may have gotten stronger since last year."

"You mean, ninety million points stronger?" Aki said levelly. "Who else here doubts that?"

Everyone raised their hands, even Ryo-Ohki.

"We're raising our hands too," Asaka said.

"That's right," Kamidake added.

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

The rest of the fights except the final bout between the last two remaining fighters take place. As the competitors are whittled down, only the two strongest warriors remain to compete against each other. However, revealing who these two are would just be spoiling it.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "Towards the Finals".


	9. Towards the Finals

Previously in Apex AZ:

Tenchi took everyone in the MAGI school who was interested in competing in the tournament, as well as Sasami, Ryoko and Aki, down to a nearby beach on Kormanet, where he trained them for the next two weeks. After entering it, they all took the qualifying test. It was mostly Saiyans that got in, but that just made for a more interesting championship. The first round of fights started, removing the weaker opponents, and the quarterfinals were about to begin. Well, at least we're getting closer to the end. If you can't follow the tournament match-ups, there isn't really any hope of understanding what happens. I suppose you can follow the final fight anyway, because it's the one we all expected from the start. How original.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part IX – Towards the Finals

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer said. He stood in the centre of the arena floor, looking round at the audience. "The second round of the tournament is about to start. Will those of you who have gone for a snack or something please return calmly to your seats? We don't want any accidents here. The next fight is between Saifer, who claims to be the strongest fighter at the Masaki Academy for Gifted Individuals, and Tenchi Masaki, cofounder of that Academy and whose job description is down as God. Will the two fighters please come to the ring?"

"Shoot, that's me," Tenchi said, standing up. He quickly drank the last of his drink, having found another drinks machine nearby, and went towards the door. "See you later, guys. I think you others had better get down to the waiting area," he told the fighters, before leaving the room and hurrying down to the ring.

"We're still waiting for Tenchi Masaki," the announcer said. "His opponent is getting impatient. Is he putting on a show for us, or has he just forgotten that there's a second round to this thing?" He lowered the microphone and spoke quietly into the mobile communicator to the leading member of staff there. "Hey, John? Go send someone to check the toilets, okay?"

Tenchi ran outside and on to the arena, catching his breath. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "I lost track of time."

"Well, that's okay, then," the announcer replied. "Ladies and gentlemen! The next fight is about to start. Let me just leave the area first."

The fight started.

--------------------

"Tenchi, I hope this is a good fight," Saifer said across the arena. "Our last little bout didn't go too well for me, but I've improved since then."

"We'll see," Tenchi replied. "And to make it fair, I'm only going to use the same amount of energy you use."

"Okay then, but it's still going to be a lot," Saifer said, getting ready to power up.

"Oh yes," Tenchi replied. "'Strongest fighter at MAGI'? That's a bit far to go, especially since you aren't."

"What?" Saifer said, caught off guard. "Who's stronger?"

"For one, Aki," Tenchi said. "But it takes more than strength to win a fight. It takes speed, strategy and skill as well."

"I think I'll do fine, especially as you aren't going to use your full power, apparently," Saifer said. "Let's start this, then. The crowd is getting restless."

Saifer began to power up, quickly becoming a Saiyan, and soon reaching his maximum energy of about 3.3 million. Tenchi just watched him, not changing his power level of 100 at all.

Saifer charged at Tenchi across the arena, predictably swinging his fist at him. Tenchi watched him approach, and suddenly disappeared, split seconds before being hit. He reappeared beside Saifer to hit him, only to disappear again and hit him back even further from a different place. Saifer was brought to the edge of the arena, and would have gone over, were it not for Tenchi stopping the Saiyan's movement. Tenchi stood watching him as Saifer picked himself up and looked at him. He then winced in pain as the punches to his stomach caught up with him.

"I'll take care of that afterwards for you, if you want," Tenchi said.

"How are you so fast?" Saifer gasped.

"I'm just putting all the energy you're using into my speed instead of my strength," Tenchi replied. "Best performance is an equilibrium between the two. Just remember that."

"Really." Saifer unclenched his fists. Tenchi could sense his energy diminishing. "Better?"

"Pretty much," Tenchi replied. "But watch out for special techniques. Try to move."

Saifer frowned in puzzlement, and then gasped when he discovered he couldn't move anything below his neck. "Wha, what did you do?"

"Restrict, it's called," Tenchi said. "It's something you can learn, but you just haven't heard about it."

"No fair."

"Okay," Tenchi relented. "Have your movement back."

Saifer immediately darted forwards in a blur and punched Tenchi back towards the middle of the arena. As Tenchi flew back, Safier followed him, encouraging him with a few more hits. Tenchi faded into an afterimage as he appeared behind Saifer. Saifer disappeared and re-emerged behind Tenchi. Tenchi disappeared and didn't come back.

From the sidelines, Aki watched Tenchi's movements. "He's masking his appearance," he said to himself. "But I can still sense his power level, even through Saifer's. But I don't think Saifer will be able to."

Sure enough, Saifer was looking round, trying to locate his opponent.

"Strength isn't always best," Tenchi whispered into his ear. Saifer jumped back and looked at the air Tenchi had whispered from, still invisible. "You can't tell one thing from another, can you?" Another whisper, in the other ear. Saifer swung round, but hit nothing. "Can't you find me? Too bad."

"Where are you, Tenchi?" Saifer demanded. "Show yourself."

"Will he get it?" Aki wondered. "Possibly."

"Appearances can be deceiving, Saifer," Tenchi called from somewhere in the arena. "I appear to be invisible, don't I?"

Saifer caught on. He slowly lowered his power level, trying to sense Tenchi's energy signal. As his power lowered, the masking effect of the energy also went down, allowing more things to be visible to him.

Saifer swung round in the air and hit Tenchi. Tenchi glided back through the air, becoming visible again, and slid to a halt near the edge of the arena. He picked himself up and smiled at his opponent.

"Very good, Saifer," Tenchi commended. "You're beginning to understand that strength isn't the most important aspect in a battle."

"Can we finish this now?" Saifer asked. "This is becoming boring very quickly."

"As you wish." Tenchi powered up, but didn't become a Saiyan. His power level was around a million, which offered him advanced speed, but comparatively not much strength. Saifer powered back up to about 2 million, taking Tenchi's advice not to go too high. He could sense that he was already twice as strong as Tenchi, anyway.

Tenchi darted forwards at Saifer, hopping around all over the arena, his movements blurred but still visible. Saifer followed his movements, trying to discern a pattern. He disappeared and swung at the air Tenchi was going to be in. But he wasn't. Saifer, caught off balance, toppled his way towards the edge of the arena.

Tenchi appeared behind him, and nudged him closer with his foot. "You wanted to end this," he said. "Here it is."

Saifer quickly jumped up and threw a punch at Tenchi. Tenchi ducked and grabbed his arm, throwing Saifer across to the other side of the arena. He then disappeared and reappeared above Saifer, flying over the side of the arena. Tenchi dropped down, sending Saifer into the ground, while hopping off him back onto the arena floor.

Tenchi hopped down and shook Saifer's hand.

"You know, Tenchi, I'm surprised I didn't put up a better fight," Saifer said.

"I know," Tenchi agreed. "I guess you just weren't motivated by such a little challenge. Only by really pushing yourself can you get a lot better."

They walked back to the waiting arena, where the others were waiting for them, and their next fights.

"I'll be off, you guys," Saifer said. "I'll be rooting for you, Tenchi."

"What about your teacher?" Tenchi asked.

"You're both my teachers," Saifer replied.

"You enjoy the rest of the tournament now, Saifer," Aki said. "We'll see you later."

Saifer walked away to get a drink, and then to join the crowd.

"What a fight!" the announcer shouted into his microphone. "This next match-up needs to do a lot to compare. Can we have our next two competitors, please? Taurit, the beautiful Tchimenian wonder, will be facing Ryoko, demoness and good friends with Tenchi Masaki."

"I guess that's me," Ryoko said, getting up. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Good luck, Ryoko," Aki called after her.

"Good luck to you, Taurit," Tenchi wished the other fighter as she passed him.

"Thanks, but I don't need luck," Taurit replied. "It's already been proven that I'm far stronger than my opponent is."

"Just don't go overboard, please," Tenchi said. "I still want a friend afterwards."

"I'll try," Taurit said. She continued to the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said. "The next fight is about to start."

--------------------

"It should be interesting to compete with a demigoddess," Taurit said, positioning herself in a fighting stance.

"How do you know that I'm a demigoddess?" Ryoko asked. "Wow, I am. I hadn't thought about that."

Taurit charged forwards, her tails whipping around behind her. She fired a few energy shots at the ground near Ryoko, and flew around behind her, wrapping her with her tails. Ryoko struggled against the hold, and fired a few energy blasts at the tails. They let go, and Ryoko quickly flew to safety.

"That's some good fighting you have there," Ryoko said. "But I've got the upper hand." She formed her energy sword in her hand, and flew forwards at Taurit. Taurit moved out of the way, only narrowly avoiding being cut by the sword. Ryoko flew immediately after her, not giving her a chance to regain herself for an attack.

Taurit disappeared, preparing to bind Ryoko with her tails again. But this time Ryoko was ready for her. She turned round and swiped her sword around at Taurit reappeared. Taurit yelped and fell forwards. Her tails, severed near the bases, fell to the ground.

"How will you do without your main weapon?" Ryoko asked. Taurit was holding the stumps of her tails delicately, gasping at the pain. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Ryoko.

"You bitch," she whispered. Before she knew it, Ryoko was punched in the stomach by a very fast fist attached to Taurit's arm. Ryoko keeled over backwards.

Taurit stood over Ryoko, a mean look on her face. "Those were my tails," she said coldly. "They're not going to grow back. I hate you." She kicked Ryoko several times in the chest and back. Ryoko called out in pain with each hit. "Don't join the big league if you can't handle the pain," Taurit said. She kicked Ryoko hard, sending her skidding over to the side of the arena. Taurit followed her. "And now you're finished."

"I give up," Ryoko gasped.

"What?"

"I give up," Ryoko repeated. "You win." She rolled over to the side and lowered herself to the ground. "Good fight. I still have a lot to learn."

"How dare you just quit like that?" Taurit exclaimed. "This should have been a fight, not a de-tailing and run."

"I think Tenchi can take care of that," Ryoko said through the pain. "Ask him nicely, though. He doesn't like nasty people. Why d'you think I changed? I like me better now, anyway. You should try it."

"Ryoko, are you okay?" Tenchi called, running up to her. "How much does it hurt?"

"Quite a bit, but I'm fine," Ryoko said. "I think she's got something to ask, though."

Tenchi looked up at Taurit, puzzled. "What is it?" he asked.

"This... demon... cut off my tails," Taurit said, her teeth gritted. "I want them reattached now."

"Heh," Ryoko said, putting her arm around Aki for support, who had also run up. "Not with that attitude."

Taurit growled under her breath. "Could you please reattach my tails, Mr Masaki? It would mean a lot to me."

"Course I will," Tenchi replied, using his energy to bring the dismembered tails to his hand from across the arena. "I know how much they mean to you. Here, get down and turn around."

Taurit did as he said. Tenchi positioned the tails in place and wrapped his hands around the joins. Taurit gasped at the firmness of it, but very soon the pain faded and disappeared. Her tails had been reattached.

Taurit looked at them, waving them round experimentally. They seemed to be fine. She looked up at Tenchi, blushing slightly. "I thank you, Mr Masaki," she said, bowing.

"The name's Tenchi," Tenchi replied. "That's what everyone else calls me, anyway. And you're welcome. I'm going to look forward to our match later."

Aki passed Ryoko over to Tenchi, who hauled her up onto his back. "Let's go take care of her," he said.

"Sure," Tenchi replied.

As Tenchi carried Ryoko away, followed by Taurit and Aki, the announcer stepped up onto the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he called. "A quick victory for Taurit, and thanks to Tenchi, our medical team still has nothing to do. While they sit around, let's have our next fight. It's Lethena, the pink haired bucket of power from MAGI, versus Sasami, second Crown Princess of Jurai and apparently the third Super Saiyan. Maybe we'll see that now, then. Sasami's opponent in the last round forfeited, if you remember. Still, this should be a good match. Can the fighters please come out to the arena to start the match?"

Sasami and Lethena walked out, trailing behind them calls of hope and good luck from the others. They approached the arena floor and took their positions, getting in their stances.

"Let the match begin," the announcer called. "Go!"

--------------------

Both Lethena and Sasami began to power up. Their hair raised up and turned black as they became Saiyans. Lethena stopped at a level of nearly 3 million, and Sasami came to a halt at just over 4 million. They both adopted fighting stances, waiting for the other to attack.

After a few moments, neither had attacked. Sasami's arms sagged down and she straightened up, realising that Lethena wasn't going to attack her. "Lethena, what are you waiting for?" she called over. "The fight has started, you know."

"I know," Lethena said. "I'm just getting ready."

"You had half an hour to get ready," Sasami muttered. Realising that she still wasn't going to attack, Sasami lowered her defences and walked over to her opponent.

Lethena remained still as Sasami approached, choosing the time to strike. Her power level was lowering slightly, but she was keeping it topped up.

Sasami reached Lethena and sighed, crouching down and watching her, waiting for her to strike. Lethena still remained perfectly still, contemplating the fight.

"Sasami?"

Sasami looked up. "Huh? What?"

Lethena looked at her. "Everyone's heard the stories," she said. "We don't know if you really are a Super Saiyan, but we do know that you're a lot stronger than the rest of us."

"So what is it?" Sasami asked.

"Can you promise me you won't hurt me too much?" Lethena asked.

Sasami looked surprised. "Why do you want me to do that? Of course I won't hurt you too much."

Lethena smiled. "That's good," she said, sounding very relieved. "We can't back out of our matches before they start now, so I'll have to fight. I was just worried that I was going to get really hurt."

"Well, Ryoko jumped out of the ring," Sasami said. "I don't think that counts as forfeiting the match, does it?"

"Apparently not," Lethena replied. "But, can I just let you win? I know I'm not going to get through."

"You could win," Sasami said. "You never know until you try."

"But I can tell that you're a lot faster and stronger than me," Lethena said. "I'd never last."

"So you're quitting, then?" Sasami asked, before keeling back due to a punch to her stomach.

"Of course not," Lethena said. "Although I do feel guilty about fighting a little girl, I do want to win. Now, prepare to lose."

Lethena picked Sasami up and threw her over the edge of the arena. Sasami stopped moving through the air and flew back onto the raised area.

"Lethena, I thought you were going to quit?" she said.

"Haven't you ever heard of reverse psychology?" the formerly pink-haired woman asked. "It's to get you off your guard."

"It's a sneaky trick," Sasami said, getting once again into a fighting stance. "Now I'm not going to go easy on you." She burst forwards, her body blurred almost to transparency. She threw a punch at her opponent, which was quickly blocked. She then threw a few energy blasts around, causing bits of floor tile to come loose. She concentrated and levitated the broken tiles. She sent them flying at Lethena, who quickly dodged out of the way, but was hit from behind as Sasami swung the tiles back round at her. Lethena stumbled forwards, only to be caught in the chest by a knee, which knocked her back towards the edge of the arena. Winded, Lethena tumbled over to the edge of the ring, a hand hanging over the edge.

Sasami flew over and kicked her to the floor. Lethena landed outside on her shoulder, and rolled onto her back. Sasami powered down and hopped outside.

"Not bad," Sasami said, hauling Lethena up. "But I don't like your way of fighting. A true fight shouldn't have any deception in it."

"Some people have different styles," Lethena replied, as they both walked back to the waiting area. They were met by the others. Tenchi offered to heal Lethena, but she refused, saying that, while she obviously respected him, she didn't want his help.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer shouted. "Yet another quick fight. This won't do at all. We want to see some long bouts, don't we? I can't hear you," he added, provoking the crowd to yell. "Anyway, the next fight is between Aki Masaki, sensei at the MAGI and apparently second strongest person in the universe, and Tarinia. Tarinia's strength is admirable, and were she not up against Aki now, she could quite easily win the tournament. But it's still anyone's game. And here they come."

Aki and Tarinia walked from the waiting area along the tiled path to the arena, which they walked onto and chose spots to stand, fairly close to each other.

"Go!"

--------------------

Tarinia stood still, as did Aki, neither raising their power levels at all. They just stood and watched each other, waiting for the first sign of movement or action, so that they could perform a countermeasure.

"Sensei?" Tarinia asked.

"It's Aki here," Aki replied. "We're not at the academy right now. What?"

"Aki, I've heard rumours that Lord Tenchi is suppressing his power to match his opponent," Tarinia said. "I was talking to Qeltor, Tenchi's first opponent, and that's what he told me. He said Tenchi was giving everyone else a chance to win."

"What's your point?" Aki asked. "It's kind of pointless, anyway. Everyone knows the only interesting match-up will be between me and him."

"Well, I was wondering if you could do the same," Tarinia said hopefully. "I know you've got strength twenty times greater than mine, and I don't think it would be fair."

"But life isn't fair," Aki replied. "It's just the way of reality. If you've got a problem with it, talk to Tenchi about it. I'm not the guy to sort it out for you."

"Oh, I didn't mean that," Tarinia said hastily. "I was just saying that since you are over thirty times stronger than me, you could give me a little break."

"Sorry," Aki replied. "But I guess I could start small, and just increase my strength from then on. I mean, come on. It wouldn't be much of a show if I just kick you out now, would it?" Aki suddenly caught on that the crowd watching them were calling for action. "Time for some fighting, I think. The audience is getting restless."

"Only if you don't kill me too much," Tarinia said. "But you'll have to catch me first." She vanished, moving rapidly and randomly around the arena. Aki tried to watch her move, but Tarinia was pushing herself, moving extremely fast and creating strong winds where she went. Her energy signal was streaking all over the place.

Instead of trying to follow her movements around the arena, Aki just stood still, masking the energy he was increasing. Obviously Tarinia had converted nearly all of her energy into speed, so physically she wasn't very strong. All Aki had to do was tap her relatively lightly, and that would send her flying.

Tenchi could tell exactly what was going on, though. Watching from the near distance, sitting on a bench and sipping a drink, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the juice, he knew exactly where Tarinia was, and what Aki was up to. At the same time, he was imagining dozens of different and effective ways for each of the fighters to win. That was the thing about being God: every tactic, every strategy and move was basic knowledge. And having foresight helped as well.

The other remaining fighters watched on from the archway to the middle of the stadium, trying to get a clearer picture of what was going on. Sasami in particular was concentrating hard. It was she who would have to fight one of these two in the next round. Sasami was being realistic; she would be facing Aki next.

Tarinia appeared behind Aki, a faint energy aura around her. She used her remaining speed, which was quickly decreasing as it was turned into strength, to swing a knee at his back. But Aki was quicker. He spun around and caught the knee, before twisting it round, forcing Tarinia to spin with it down to the ground. As Tarinia fell, her arm grabbed Aki's hand, making him fall as well. Aki pulled himself back up, and Tarinia, still hanging on, swung over him and somersaulted across the arena to the other end.

Aki darted after her, a sudden burst of energy showing he had become a Saiyan. Tarinia leapt high up and over the approaching Saiyan, shooting a small energy blast after him. It hit Aki, but he shrugged it off. The same energy blast, however, would have seriously hurt a normal human.

Aki stopped, looking at his opponent. She had been taught by both him and Tenchi, and while Aki had taught her the basics, Tenchi had certainly played a big hand with her later training. Not so much about the offence now, as Aki had unwittingly taught his students to lean towards that ideal, but now more emphasis was on evasion and dexterity. Tarinia had known that her energy blast wouldn't have hurt Aki at all, so it was obviously not meant as an actual attack.

Tarinia looked back at her sensei. While she had utmost respect for him, and was certainly one of his friends, she still wanted to fight and win. With this in mind, back when Tenchi had started training everyone, Tarinia had asked him something.

Tenchi was interested now, and was standing in the archway, watching Aki, who was about to realise what had happened. He smiled slightly.

Aki began to power up, planning to show everyone the Super Saiyan form at least once before the finals. He coughed.

Tarinia lowered herself to a spot close to her master. "Aki, anything the matter?" she asked with a seemingly innocent tone.

"No, not really," Aki replied. He coughed again.

"Oh," Tarinia replied. "Because it seems to me like you can't power up any more. Is that right?"

"What are you talking about?"

Tenchi focussed on the two as Tarinia continued, smiling a bit more.

"That energy blast I shot you with?" Tarinia said. "Not just something you shrugged off. It's actually a special technique Tenchi taught me, just for this fight. It's the power limiter technique. It prevents you from increasing your energy any more." Tarinia leaned back slightly, as if looking at Aki in a different way. "I suppose now we're even," she said. She powered up to a Saiyan, reaching an energy level similar to Aki's, about 3 million.

Aki glanced over at Tenchi, who smiled and waved back. Aki had that look in his eyes, the look that said, "if I ever wanted to get you, it's quite probably now".

"Just get on with it," Tenchi's voice came into his mind. "I can reverse it later. But you've got a fight now, and I fully expect you to win."

"Why's that?" Aki thought back.

"I have my reasons."

Instead of arguing, Aki jumped forwards into a flurry of fists and legs, all the time trying to figure out what he could still do. He broke away and flew as fast as he could around the arena. He was fine.

"It limits power, Aki, not speed," Tenchi's voice said again. "You can't be stronger than that, but you can still use the rest of your energy for other things."

Aki grinned, once again looking over at Tenchi. He raised a thumbs up as he flew, far too fast to be seen by anyone but him. Tenchi responded with the same.

Aki flew straight at Tarinia and sent her flying before she could catch on. Several hits sent her to the edge of the arena and straight over the end, to the end of the fight. Unable to focus, Tarinia dropped to the ground, out of the arena and tournament. Aki landed beside her and pulled her up.

"Good fight, Tar," Aki said, resting an arm on her shoulder as they walked back to the waiting area. "Very clever. I didn't know you were getting special training from him over there."

"You never asked," Tarinia replied, smiling. "It was fun, while it lasted."

"Good fight," Tenchi said as they arrived. "Tarinia, great use of our little secret. You've learned it amazingly quickly."

"I had an amazing teacher," Tarinia replied, blushing slightly.

"No, no, you did a good job," Aki agreed. "Now I just need to get my power back. Tenchi?"

Tenchi raised an arm and pointed his finger straight at Aki's forehead. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course not," Aki replied.

"Good." Tenchi sent a small purple spark form his finger at Aki. As it hit, more purple streaks zapped from his body to the ground. "You're discharged now," Tenchi said. "Your power's back."

Aki didn't have to try it. He trusted him. "You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?" Aki asked, looking at his brother. "That us two would get paired up. That's why you taught Tar that move."

"Wouldn't be much of a God if I didn't see that coming," Tenchi replied. "But I believe we've got another half hour break before the semi-finals. And then, me versus Taurit, and you versus Sasami. Want a drink?"

--------------------

They did have the break, so Tenchi, Sasami and Aki went back again to the private room and the others. Ryoko was already there.

Tenchi had stayed behind for a moment to get another drink, and nearly bumped into someone walking out of a door as he returned to his room.

"Nearly spilled my drink there," Tenchi said, steadying the cup and holding out his right hand. "Hi, I'm Tenchi. How are you?"

"Sorry," the man he nearly bumped into replied. "Hey, you're Tenchi Masaki, aren't you?"

"I suppose I am," Tenchi replied, his hand still offered. The man noticed and shook it.

"Hi," the man said. "I'm Katari. Katari Midomo."

"Hey," Tenchi said. "Katari... You're not the Katari, are you? Katari, the tournament champion?"

"Um, that's right," Katari said.

"You've got to fight the winner of the tournament after, don't you?" Tenchi asked. "Well, good luck with that. I hope you'll win."

"Why? Do you know something we don't?"

"Lots of things," Tenchi smiled. "But don't let that upset you. It was nice meeting you, but I should get back to my friends."

"And you. Will I see you later?"

"I think so."

Tenchi returned to his room, while Katari walked off somewhere, his knees almost keeping him up.

"Hi, Tenchi," Ayeka greeted. "How was your fight?"

"Fine," Tenchi replied. "How's life up here? It seems okay to me, but you've been up here for the past couple of hours. You can always go somewhere else if you want."

"That's okay," Washu replied. "We're fine. So what are your thoughts on the next few fights?"

"You don't want to know," Tenchi replied. "It'd just spoil the surprise," he added as he saw their faces.

"A surprise?" Nobuyuki said. "So you're not going to win, or something?"

"What I mean is, the future is always a surprise," Tenchi said. "I'd just ruin what you're going to see by telling you. Besides, what makes you think I've looked into the future anyway?"

"You saw my fight against Tarinia," Aki was quick to say.

"Doesn't mean I've looked at everything else that happens today," Tenchi said, walking over to the window and sitting on the frame. The windows had no glass, because the only times they would be looked out of would be a fine day to hold the tournaments. Fighters couldn't fight in a drizzle, could they? And what would the audience be like?

"I must say, Tenchi," Nobuyuki said. "I'm very impressed that you managed to get this far, even without using all your fancy powers."

"Thanks, dad," Tenchi replied. His eyes flicked to a spot in the air near him, and smiled slightly, before paying attention to the rest of the room again.

Sasami was busy playing with Ryo-Ohki, who was scampering around the floor, trying not to be tapped by the quick little princess. Aki was sitting down, his eyes closed, relaxing or meditating, whichever was uncertain. Yosho and Nobuyuki were drinking some tea they had found, after several minutes of searching this and the adjacent rooms. Ayeka and Ryoko were hovering around Tenchi, waiting for him to pay attention to them.

"Sorry, girls," Tenchi said, realising they were there. "What do you want?"

Just to be with him, apparently. And so here, sitting holding a woman in each arm, surrounded by his family and friends, Tenchi Masaki was just another person. Nowhere else would he get such treatment. Only with these people was he not special, not someone to worship or idolise or whisper about, or to be placed on a completely different level to the rest of the universe.

Yes, Tenchi quite liked it here.

--------------------

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer called yet again. "The semi-finals are about to take place! Settle down, now, so we can start the first of the two bouts. This one is between Tenchi Masaki and Taurit Fi. Would the two fighters come to the arena, please?"

Tenchi was ready this time, and was already in the waiting area, as was his opponent Taurit. It seemed like Taurit hadn't actually moved for the half-hour. But now she stood up and walked outside to the raised paved area. Tenchi followed her, watching her not with suspicion or apprehension, but with curiosity. Knowing everything hadn't made him less interested in things, things he could just think about whenever he wanted; quite the opposite, it made him completely fascinated with everything around him. He could appreciate the fineness of the construction of an atom, could see the harmonics of a molecule, and there were quite a few of those around. He was watching the way she was walking, her tails swishing slightly with the steps, curling round lazily.

"Now for a few words with our fighters," the announcer said. "Miss Fi, what made you decide to enter this tournament?"

"Nothing made me enter," Taurit replied curtly. "I felt like it."

"Right. And what do you plan to do with the prize money, should you win?"

"I plan to spend it how I want," Taurit said. She looked at the announcer for a second, and turned and walked to a spot on the arena floor.

The announcer turned to Tenchi. "Mr Masaki, how did you come to enter?" he asked.

"Please, call me Tenchi," Tenchi replied. "It's my name, after all. And I entered because my brother Aki mentioned it, and it sounded fun, so I entered."

"And what will you do with the prize money if you win?"

"I don't know," Tenchi replied. "I hadn't thought about it. I'm just here for some fun."

"But the prize is twenty million Jurai-coin," the announcer said, his voice quivering slightly. "That's what everyone enters for. It's a lot of money."

"So I've heard," Tenchi said. "But like I said, I don't really care. I'd probably just donate it or something."

"All of it?" The announcer's voice was really quivering now. He, like everyone else there, had grown up knowing exactly how valuable the Jurai-coin was, and here was Tenchi, just breezing it aside.

Assuming the questions were over, Tenchi walked over to another spot on the arena. He thought it was a nice spot, and if he looked up slightly he could see all his friends in the private room. After giving them a little wave, Tenchi looked once again at his opponent. Her long chestnut hair, draped over her shoulders and tied with red ribbons, was billowing slightly in the breeze. Her matching brown eyes observed Tenchi's every movement, and her slim figure was positioned in such a way as to enhance her appearance, while still being an excellent starting form.

"Have a nice fight," Tenchi called. He got no reply. Her attitude, unfortunately, at least, the one Tenchi had encountered, was not as good as her figure. Tenchi wasn't attracted to her, though. He had two fiancées, both of whom were Tenchi's true loves. The wedding hadn't been planned for any actual time, though; they really would have to start organising things soon.

And the fight started.

--------------------

Taurit ran quickly across the arena at Tenchi, who just stood there, still thinking about the coming wedding. One ceremony or two, was the question. He'd ask them later. So it came as quite a surprise when, his mind completely thinking about something else, he was hit in the face. The punch sent him reeling back, and he fell to the ground before he came back to his senses.

A drop of blood splattered on the ground. It had come from Tenchi's nose. Tenchi sniffed and wiped the other blood trickling from his nostril. But he very quickly had no time to worry about a bloody nose, because Taurit had Tenchi trapped, bound by her tails, the tails he had reattached. One tail was wrapping his arms and throat, while the other had trapped his legs. Tenchi choked as the grip around his neck tightened.

"Thanks for giving me my tails back," Taurit whispered in his ear. "I doubt you can concentrate enough to do anything with your energy while I've got you like this."

Indeed Tenchi couldn't. The surging headache, which was already throbbing painfully, was stopping him thinking enough about anything else to escape. If he could just get an arm free...

But he couldn't. He was quickly approaching unconsciousness, and he couldn't do a thing about it. Already the noise around him was getting quieter, more distant. His eyes were closed in an attempt to concentrate more.

In the audience, and especially in the private room with Tenchi's friends, there was uproar. How could this person be strangling God like this?

"Tenchi!" Ryoko and Ayeka were shouting, while the others were trying to stop them flying through the window.

"You let him go now!" Ayeka shouted, forgetting everything about being a princess. "Don't you dare hurt my Tenchi any more!"

Ryoko was shouting similar things. The others in the room were holding those two back, except for Yosho. Yosho was sitting in a chair, watching the fight. Sure, he was worried, but he also knew that Tenchi wouldn't be beaten so easily.

Aki and Sasami were also watching from the waiting area. They couldn't tell how Tenchi was doing, but it didn't look good. They were only just managing to restrain themselves from flying straight over and beating up Taurit.

But back on the arena, Tenchi appeared, just behind Taurit, and tapped her on her shoulder.

"Please don't do that," he said calmly.

Taurit looked back at her tails, which were still wrapped around Tenchi. And yet here was another Tenchi, asking her to let go.

"Wha... what?" Taurit stammered, really not getting what was going on. Her grip on Tenchi loosened, allowing the new Tenchi to twist her tails off him and carry him away a bit. The released Tenchi looked up at the other and smiled.

"Thanks," he said, sitting up and rubbing his nose. They both looked at Taurit, who herself was looking very disorientated.

"What's going on?" she asked the two, her question showing her state of mind.

"Never heard of the Multiform technique?" the released Tenchi asked.

"We split just after the bout started," the other Tenchi said. "I just hid for a while."

"You planned this?" Taurit asked.

"Not as such," the other Tenchi said. "It was just a precaution, you know? Seems to have paid off, though."

"Can we carry on?" the released Tenchi asked, standing up. "Fusion."

"Ha!" they both called. They both glowed a bright blue and merged, fusing back together, before the glowing faded.

"Shall we continue?" Tenchi asked, before instantly disappearing. Invisible punches rained down on Taurit, sending her reeling across the arena. Tenchi appeared, grabbed her and disappeared with her. Taurit reappeared just above the ground outside the arena, and promptly fell, hitting the ground with a small thud. Tenchi appeared on the arena, standing at the edge, before hopping off and helping his opponent up.

"Good fight," Tenchi said, rubbing her stomach to alleviate her pain. "If I hadn't split, you'd have won."

"I'd say that's cheating," Taurit replied as they both walked towards the waiting area. "But I know better than to argue with God."

"It's not cheating, anyway," Tenchi said. "There's nothing in the rules about not being allowed to use that technique. In fact, there's pretty much no rules, apart from how a person wins, remember? Anything goes."

"At least it was a good fight," Taurit said, "even though it was a bit short."

"Well," Tenchi replied as they reached the waiting area. "The outcome of pretty much every fight is chosen before it starts, because of differences in strength and strategy and all that. The actual fight then doesn't last long at all."

"Figures," Taurit said. "Hey, now you're in the finals. Good luck with that. I'll stick around and watch, okay?"

"Sure," Tenchi replied.

"Tenchi what was that?" Aki asked. "I didn't sense you do anything. How did you use Multiform?"

"I can mask my energy really well," Tenchi replied. "I can also mask my appearance, making me invisible. It's a bit tricky, but I did it. Had you fooled, didn't I?"

"I'll say," Sasami said. "We were all worried about you, Tenchi. Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Tenchi replied, resting a hand on the young girl's head. "But now it's your turn. Go and beat up this guy."

"Not likely," Aki said as he turned and walked to the arena. "You just watch."

"Have fun," Tenchi called after them. He sat down on a nearby bench and sat to watch the fight.

"So, Aki Masaki," the announcer was saying to Aki, "what made you decide to enter this tournament?"

"I just felt like it," Aki replied. "And I also want another chance to fight Tenchi." He grinned, looking over at his brother, who raised a thumb up at him and smiled back.

"Yes, because if you remember," the announcer said, now addressing the audience, "the story goes that Aki and Tenchi first met as rivals, and they fought, during which Aki lost, despite having drained his opponent of all his energy."

"Don't rub it in," Aki whispered, before turning and walking past Sasami to the middle of the arena. Sasami stepped forwards.

"Ah, Princess Sasami," the announcer greeted. "And what made you decide to enter today?"

"Well, I knew it was on, and Tenchi has been training me," Sasami said. "He's a great teacher. He suggested that I enter the tournament to see how good I've become."

"Tenchi trained you?" the announcer asked. "Well, it makes sense. He should know everything there is to know about the art of fighting. It wouldn't surprise me that he's a good teacher."

"He's the best," Sasami said. After a pause, she turned around and walked over to a spot near Aki.

And the gong sounded, signalling the start of the fight.

--------------------

Both fighters began to power up, reaching the Saiyan form quickly. They stopped and charged at each other, disappearing just before they collided. Afterimages of the two appeared all around the arena as they moved frantically, punching, kicking and blocking the other. After a while, explosions started appearing around the sky and ground. They had both started to use energy attacks.

They both landed, on opposite sides of the arena, arms at their sides, hands cupping the air.

"Kah meh hah meh haa!" they both yelled, throwing the attacks they were forming at each other. The blasts shot towards each other, colliding in the centre of the ring, where a large ball of energy, similar to the one Tenchi and Aki were fighting over at the end of their first fight, just before Tenchi first became Supreme Saiyan. Instead of staying stable, the ball exploded after a few seconds of being formed, the explosion filling the middle half of the ring.

Aki looked sideways at Tenchi, who was containing the explosion. He didn't appear to be doing much, but he was stopping the kameya-meya blasts destroying the planet, which they easily would have done if Tenchi wasn't there.

Sasami flew through the explosion, ready to swing a punch at Aki, which she did. Aki flew back, recoiling from the hit, and disappeared. Sasami too vanished.

As the explosion dissipated, streaks of lightning could be seen flashing around the arena. The two fighters were moving even faster now. A few shockwaves appeared around the sky, and then, in one place, a flash of gold. One of the fighters had transformed to a Super Saiyan.

A second later, a crater appeared just outside the arena on the ground. Sasami appeared, rebounding from the collision, and fell on the ground, lying quite still.

A few seconds after that, Aki appeared at the edge of the arena, standing watching the princess. Then he hopped down and pulled Sasami up, hoisting her onto his back, before flying over to Tenchi, to the sound of cheering, hissing, and "Aki is the winner!" by the announcer.

Sasami was lowered into a chair, and Tenchi placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, beginning to heal her wounds. She had a cracked rib and gashes and cuts across her body. Tenchi healed them all, and redid her clothes at the same time, making them appear new again. He then tapped her on her cheek.

"Wake up, you," Tenchi said softly.

Sasami slowly opened an eye and looked at Tenchi. "I didn't win, did I?" she asked.

"Not just then, no," Tenchi replied, smiling.

Sasami lifted herself onto her feet. "Oh well," she said. "Maybe next time I won't lose."

"Come on," Tenchi said. "Let's go find the others."

And so they set off for the private room. The people inside asked how Sasami was, and after she insisted that she was okay, Nobuyuki spoke.

"So I guess this means you and Tenchi are fighting in the finals, then," he said to Aki.

"Looks that way," Aki replied, looking at Tenchi.

"At least we're wearing different clothes," Tenchi replied. "But with the amount of energy we'll probably be using, I don't think the planet will be too safe, do you?"

"You could just contain it, couldn't you?" Aki asked. "Like you did with the kameya-meyas just now?"

"I could," Tenchi replied. "But I wasn't busy fighting before. I may not be able to hold it."

Everyone looked shocked, as they suddenly realised that they could all be vaporised by the next fight, along with everyone else on the planet.

"But... but you're God," Ayeka stuttered. "You can't contain that kind of energy?"

Tenchi's serious face remained for a few seconds, and then a smile appeared. "Course I can," he replied. "Just having you on. But I wouldn't do too many big blasts, Aki. If I beat you while containing all those explosions at the same time, you wouldn't really look great."

"But that's if you beat me," Aki replied.

Everyone else in the room looked sceptical. In their minds there wasn't a doubt who was going to win. But as Tenchi had said, he was holding back his power to match his opponent, to give them a chance. Perhaps Aki could win after all.

* * *

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

Aki fights Tenchi in the finals, and the winner goes on to fight Katari Midomo, the current Galactic Champion. Afterwards, Tenchi talks with Yosho, and the inevitable happens.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "The End...".


	10. The End

Previously in Apex AZ:

After the quarterfinals, Tenchi, Taurit, Sasami and Aki were the only fighters remaining. This small list of people was narrowed down even further by the semi-finals, after which only Tenchi and Aki were left. It is these two who will fight each other in the finals. If that didn't take you by surprise, then it shows you're alive. But after this episode is the last one, and a special finishing one after that. I've not been allowed to speak at the start of those, so this is my last little bit of speech. How sad. But perhaps they might explain the way all this has been set out, with the three sagas and all, like maybe they're just being read out as a bedtime story or something. Any way, it's been great to be a part of this, which is I suppose a more livelier part than the preview writer's. He's already been sacked, by the way. Goodbye, and enjoy.

* * *

Apex AZ, Part X – The End...

* * *

The collective noise outside the window, like waves of sound washing over the people who were making it, rippled back and forwards around the stadium. Most of them were moving around, talking to friends, getting something to eat or drink, or going to the toilet or buying a camera. This next fight was destined to be a spectacular show, and they all knew it.

Katari Midomo was sitting on a soft sofa, watching replays of the fights both Tenchi and Aki had been in to get to the finals. Since he would be facing one of them afterwards, he wanted to know at least some of their strategy and techniques before he was totally wasted by them.

Aki was also sitting on a sofa, meditating. He was collecting all of his energy for the upcoming fight. Fighting Tenchi would be the toughest thing he had ever done, especially now that Tenchi could easily tap into his seemingly infinite energy. It didn't matter how much energy he had, it was still nothing compared to Tenchi's unlimited power. He just hoped that Tenchi would still stick to his word, and match his power level again.

Tenchi sat on another sofa, facing out of the window, flanked on either side by Ryoko and Ayeka, his wives-to-be. Ryo-Ohki rested on his lap, and all three were busy stroking her as they talked aimlessly, Tenchi occasionally waving at someone who had spotted him from the audience.

Nobuyuki was busy with his expensive binoculars, which he had brought along. He was currently busy looking at the crowds of people, watching and examining each different type of person there. He had never seen an alien before, let alone crowds full of them.

Mihoshi was munching an apple while looking out of another window. It was a fairly interesting sight, especially for Nobuyuki, but Mihoshi was a Galaxy Police Detective, so she had already had encounters with these species before.

Yosho sat, sipping a cup of tea, thinking about what he was going to tell Tenchi, and when to tell him. It was important, but he had decided to wait until after the tournament, when the two were alone. It probably had to be soon, though.

All in all, it was quite boring, being in that room at the moment.

--------------------

The crowd outside had roughly settled down again, waiting eagerly for the final round to start. The commentator didn't really need to calm them down; they all wanted to see this. The mere reputations of Tenchi and Aki made this very probably the most interesting fight there would be today.

Both Tenchi and Aki had left the room, and were walking towards the waiting area, from where they would be called in a few minutes.

"Nervous?" Tenchi asked.

"Maybe," Aki replied. "I'm fighting the Universe's most powerful person in a moment. What've I got to be nervous about?"

"Well, I'll hold back my energy to match yours," Tenchi said. "It's about 90-odd million, isn't it?"

"As far as I know, 94," Aki replied. "But you're not going to use any sneaky techniques, are you? You know, the energy suppressing one, or Multiform, are you?"

"Not now," Tenchi said. "I think I can take you without those. Besides, it wouldn't be a good show."

"I guess you're right."

"Hey, Aki?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think they'd allow the use of weapons in the tournament?"

"Anything goes, I think. Yeah, there's pretty much no rules, except about how to win. Why, were you planning to use energy blades or something?"

"I was just wondering," Tenchi replied, stepping into the waiting area. He grabbed a plastic cup of juice from a tray and drank it. "Have a good fight," he said.

"You too."

--------------------

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer shouted. "It's now time for the finals. And here are Tenchi and Aki Masaki!"

The crowd might have exploded for all the noise they were making. The two remaining fighters walked up onto the arena, where the announcer was waiting for them, doubtless with a few more questions.

"How are you two?" he greeted. "Before we start, would you mind answering a few questions?"

"Sure."

"Why not?"

"Great," the announcer smiled. "Tenchi, everyone knows about your fight with Kagato, and with K'oko as well, but what other opponents have you fought?"

"Sel and Aki here," Tenchi replied. "But my toughest fight, I would have to say, was with Sel, the second time. It's the only fight I died in. And then I died twice."

"You've died twice?" the announcer asked.

"Well, three times," Tenchi said. "Against the Borg, as well, you know."

"Oh. Of course." The announcer turned to Aki. "So what challenges have you faced until now?"

"Well, there was all my early training," Aki said. "It was quite tough, but my genetic changes meant I could cope fairly well. The only real challenge, as far as I remember, was against Tenchi here."

"And why did you fight Tenchi in the first place?"

"Several reasons, but I'm not going to say," Aki said. "Tenchi knows, and that's good enough."

"Fair enough. Thanks for your time."

"No problem."

"Have fun, now."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the fight is now about to start," the announcer called. "All we're waiting for is the gong to sound, and then the most anticipated match-up will begin. Tenchi, God of everything, will be fighting Aki, teacher and sensei of most new Saiyans around now."

And the gong sounded.

--------------------

But instead of fighting immediately, they both stood still, casually watching each other. Tenchi reached out both arms and a long wooden staff appeared in each hand. He held them out, offering Aki one. Aki nodded to the right, so Tenchi threw the staff Aki was nodding to over to him. He caught it and swung it around into a strong offensive position. Tenchi just held his in front of him and crouched down slightly, in no particular form.

Aki ran across the arena, swinging his staff around and swinging it down above Tenchi. Tenchi blocked with the middle of his own staff, and swung it sideways to hit Aki in his middle. Aki blocked, and parried back. The two started exchanging blows with the staffs, hopping around a bit.

After a while of this, Tenchi nodded. Aki gave him his staff back, and Tenchi made the two disappear again. Aki jumped back, and Tenchi walked forwards and started throwing punches. Aki was blocking and hit back. It started slow at first, but became quicker, until their arms were little more than blurs. Suddenly, Tenchi grabbed Aki's fists and held them tight.

"Come on," he said. "If you're going to hit me, then hit me."

Aki pulled his arms away and back-flipped across the arena. He powered up to his Saiyan form, and Tenchi did likewise. They both ascended to Super Saiyans and began to form energy blasts.

"Kah meh hah meh," Aki was yelling, the small ball of compacted energy getting brighter in his hands.

"Kah meh hah meh," Tenchi was yelling, no energy in his hands. His fingers were twitching slightly.

"Haah!" they both yelled. A ball of orange energy appeared in Tenchi's hands as he fired it at Aki. Aki fired his blue ball of energy at Tenchi. The beams raced towards each other, before slowing down and bending around each other, being repelled by the other beam. They took new directions and shot at the other person, running alongside the other beam.

As an upsurge of cries rose from the crowd, Aki deflected the blast shooting at him into the air, while Tenchi grabbed Aki's beam in his right hand, containing it. He stopped forming his beam and raised his left hand in the air, moving the other beam back towards him. It shot into his hand, where he slapped the two balls of energy together. Instead of an explosion, nothing happened.

"What was that?" Aki called over the crowd's noise.

"I'm not going to tell the you technical name for it," Tenchi replied, "but it was the opposite to your beam. They repelled each other, and when I hit them together, they just neutralised each other."

"Oh." Aki wasn't sure he understood, but he took that as truth. "Tenchi, I want to fight you at full power," he said, forgetting the energy beams for the moment. "And I mean your full power, too, not just the same level as mine."

"Aki, I really don't think that's safe," Tenchi replied. "But I will fight at your full power, if it makes you feel better."

"Not really," Aki replied, powering up to a Hyper Saiyan. "But it's good for a start."

Tenchi powered up to the same power level, but strangely lowering his form first to a Saiyan, then to normal. His long hair whipped around his face in the breeze, and he brushed it back behind his ears.

"Tenchi, I want a proper fight," Aki shouted. "Not just fighting a human. It's better if you go Super Three, you know."

"I know," Tenchi replied calmly. "I'm just thinking about what to do."

"You think," Aki said, "and I'll fight." He fired a quick blast of energy straight at Tenchi's face. It hit and caused a small explosion. It disappeared, but Tenchi was fine. His hair had become shorter, though, like how it usually was.

"Thanks for that," Tenchi said. He jumped and disappeared, quickly reaching a speed that was too fast to be seen by normal eyes. Only by his energy signal being sensed, now, was he able to be found.

Aki could sense it, though, and he shot off too. The fight continued, moving faster than anyone could see, the only evidence of the fighting being the shockwaves of fists being blocked or kicks being diverted, or bits of the arena getting smashed.

Once again, the two slowed down for a breather. Keeping up such a quick speed was a strain on the body, and neither fighter wanted to have their body blow up.

"I was thinking," Tenchi called over. "I was wondering if you wanted to become stronger."

"Way ahead of you," Aki replied, before quickly shifting over behind Tenchi. He grabbed him in an arm lock and held him tight. "Power leech time." He started to drain Tenchi's energy. Tenchi struggled, but didn't escape the hold, all the time having his energy sapped away by Aki's technique. Aki soon let go, leaving Tenchi with a power level of about 200. Tenchi sagged down onto his knees, breathing heavily. Aki hopped away and began to power up. It was incredible. His power level was approaching 190 million. The electricity sparks rushing around his Hyper Saiyan body were dense and powerful, sending little cracks and snaps wherever they broke. Small bits of the ground around him were being vaporised.

Tenchi stood up. "Well, that's one way," he said, looking at Aki. "But I was actually thinking of something else. Now, you can't become a Super Three, can you? Not when you don't really need to, right?"

"And..." Aki prompted.

"Well, there is another form," Tenchi continued. "Another kind of Super Saiyan Three. When I went back through time to sort everything out that I had to, I thought up this alternate form. I designed it especially for you. Only someone who has died, and has a power level over about 30 million can transform, so that's you."

"But I don't need to transform," Aki replied. "I can't advance if I'm stronger than any enemy around, and you're not an enemy."

"But that's what's so good about this alternate form," Tenchi said. "There's no necessity about it. As long as you realise that the path through the Super Saiyan stages is forked just after Hyper, instead of straight on to Supreme, and you have any power level above 30 million, you can advance. Try it."

"So you mean, instead of trying for Supreme Saiyan," Aki said, "I can try for this other form instead?"

Aki glowed a brilliant gold, which brightened to white. The light radiated around him, like a large ultra-bright light-bulb. Inside it, unseen by everyone except Tenchi, who could sense what was going on, Aki was ascending to the next form. The glowing faded and disappeared, and Aki was visible again.

Aki's hair was the main change. Unlike the Supreme Saiyan, his hair was about the same length as before. It was barely sticking up, but it was still in many bunches. It was resting on his shoulders and jutting out beyond his forehead, swept to the side to keep out of his eyes. His eyes were now yellow with the standard black pupils. But that wasn't the biggest difference. Aki's hair was silver.

Tenchi summoned a large mirror from nowhere, like he had the staffs, and offered it to Aki. Aki took it and looked at his reflection, brushing a bit of his hair back.

"My gift to you," Tenchi said. "You can name this form, if you want."

"This is great," Aki replied, his voice slightly deeper than normal, but not as deep as Tenchi's Supreme Saiyan voice. "I thought I was going to be stuck at Hyper Saiyan forever, but now this is much better."

"The name of this form is your choice," Tenchi said again. "It's pretty much on par with the Golden Supreme form. Heh, Golden Supreme. Sounds like a type of butter, doesn't it? Or an apple."

"I don't know what to call it," Aki said. "I can't think of a name that suits this transformation."

"You did suggest Extreme Saiyan for the Golden Supreme form," Tenchi said. "How about that?"

"Well, I wouldn't really say it's extreme," Aki replied, giving Tenchi his mirror back. Tenchi made it disappear. "What about Silver Saiyan?"

"You know what, it's not important," Tenchi said. "Let's just leave it to later. We've still got some fighting to do, you know."

"Well, unless you've got some snazzy trick," Aki said, "it looks like I've got the upper hand."

"No tricks," Tenchi said. "Just this." He powered up, quickly becoming a Hyper Saiyan. He pushed his level higher and ascended to Supreme Saiyan, his power level closely equalling Aki's. "Infinite energy," he explained. "Didn't I tell you?"

"But Tenchi, "Aki said. "I still want to fight you at your full power. If we're equal, it's just going to drag out, and neither of us'll win. Just use your best."

Tenchi breathed heavily, as if preparing himself for something. "Okay, if you say so. You're not going to like how easily I'll beat you, though."

"Just do it."

Tenchi shrugged and his power level increased again. Past 200 million, beyond 500 million, and suddenly, it disappeared. Tenchi was standing where he was, but Aki, nor anyone else there who could, could sense Tenchi's energy signature.

"Wha, what happened?" Aki asked.

"My energy's just too great to be contained now," Tenchi replied, the ground around him melting due to the lightning crackling around him. "It's all around you now. And just so you know, this still isn't my full power."

It looked like Aki just disappeared and instantly collapsed on the ground outside the arena, but Tenchi had actually moved so fast, throwing him out of the tournament, that it looked as though he, Tenchi, hadn't moved at all.

Tenchi quickly powered down, and descended to his normal form, before hopping over to help Aki up. Aki was fine, now with a normal power level too. They walked back over to the waiting area, but before they reached it, Tenchi was called back by the announcer.

"Tenchi Masaki, the winner of the tournament!" he was shouting, for the benefit of the audience. "Tenchi, how does it feel to have won?"

"Not bad," Tenchi replied, scratching the back of his head. "A bit disappointed, now it's over."

"Now, you have one challenge left," the announcer said, his voice lowering to normal. "Katari Midomo, the previous Galactic Champion, is waiting to fight you. You've already won the money, but this fight is to see who will be the Champion for the next year. Do you want to rest, or are you ready to fight now?"

"I'm fine now," Tenchi said.

"Very well then." The announcer turned to the waiting area, where Katari was waiting, still breathless from watching the fight. "Mr Midomo, we're ready for your fight with the winner now."

Katari whimpered slightly as he stood up and walked slowly towards the arena. "Have fun," Aki called after him, a smile on his face.

Oh, I'm gonna die, he was thinking as he walked. There's no way I'm going to survive, let alone win. Still, at least I can go out like a true fighter.

Tenchi was watching his curiously as Katari climbed up the stairs onto the arena. "Hey, Katari," Tenchi said, quiet enough for only the Champion to hear. "You okay?"

"I can't believe I'm gonna die," Katari was still whimpering, not daring to look remotely at Tenchi. If he had, he would notice that Tenchi was looking at him, not with menace, but with a blank stare.

"Katari Midomo had been the Galactic Champion for the past three years," the announcer was saying, as the Champion was threatening to do something nasty in his uniform. "He has become an icon for the rest of us. But will this be the time he'll be replaced?"

The crowd cheered, both for Katari and Tenchi. The gong sounded. The fight had begun.

Tenchi just watched Katari, who looked like he was struggling with himself. "Umm..."

Katari looked up, pure concentration in his eyes, not thinking about anything else but looking good when he went. He charged at Tenchi, who was still standing still. He swung his fist around and caught Tenchi straight in the chest.

Tenchi flew backwards from the impact, straight across the arena and hit the ground outside. He rolled over and was stopped by the barrier between the audience and the fight.

There was pure silence. No-one could believe Tenchi had been knocked out of the arena, especially by the first punch.

Tenchi picked himself up and looked over at Katari, waving him over. Stunned, Katari walked towards Tenchi.

Tenchi held out his hand, his other hand sweeping his long hair back behind him. "Well done," he said. "You've won." He held his hand out for a moment longer, but dropped it to his side as it wasn't taken. "You've won. Go and enjoy yourself."

"You mean I've really won?" Katari asked.

"Really really," Tenchi replied, before smiling at him and turning and walking back to the waiting area to meet Aki.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't believe this," the announcer said, his voice just as stunned as everyone felt. "Tenchi has lost. Katari is still the Champion for another year."

"Tenchi, what was that?" Aki asked as Tenchi approached.

"What?"

"You lost," Aki said, looking at Katari. "You lost to that weakling."

"I deserved to lose," Tenchi replied. "That man knew full well he didn't stand a chance, but he fought anyway. It takes more than strength to be strong, and that man is brave. And besides, he's apparently a hero of some kind, an icon for the people. What would it look like if he lost a fight as quickly as I could have beaten him? It just wouldn't be right."

"That's not the whole reason, and we both know it," Aki said, walking next to Tenchi as they went back to their room.

"You're right," Tenchi said. "To be honest, I didn't feel like being the Champion. I've got enough popularity as it is, and that's good enough for me. I've helped a lot of people, and I'm fine with that. That's mostly what I wanted to compete for, anyway."

"The rest?"

"It's a bit of fun, isn't it?"

There was quiet for a bit.

"Tenchi, about our fight..." Aki said.

"Oh yes. I won," Tenchi replied. "Don't worry, the MAGI'll get the prize money. I did say it would."

"Thanks, but it's not that," Aki said. "Did you want your energy back? After all, it was yours."

"So was the energy you took from me the other time," Tenchi replied, looking sideways at Aki. "No, I'll take it back. You can keep all the energy you had before our match, even though it is about a third mine."

"Thanks," Aki said again. "Umm, how...?"

Tenchi reached out and placed his hand on Aki's shoulder. Aki felt a strange tingling sensation, mixed with a cold wave that spread out from his shoulder. Tenchi removed his hand.

"Done," Tenchi said. "I've taken my energy back."

"Good."

They reached the room and entered.

--------------------

The rest of the day was spent explaining to everyone why Tenchi had lost the fight, but some of them didn't really get it. And after the award ceremony, where Tenchi received his cash prize and a golden medal, which he subsequently gave to Aki to use for the MAGI, and after the feast for the sixteen fighters and their friends and families, during which Tenchi made some promises to visit some people later, such as Qeltor, who was going to learn how to fly, the extended Masaki family went home. Since the feast had been a big one, dinner was cancelled, and everyone relaxed for the rest of the day.

Yosho had hung around for a short while, and then went back to the Masaki Shrine. After about an hour, now being about five o'clock, Tenchi went outside by himself. He walked around for a while, slowly making his way up to the Shrine. He reached Yosho's building and knocked.

"Come in," Yosho called from within.

Tenchi slid the door open and went in, closing the door behind him. He sat down on the floor in front of his grandfather, who had been sorting through some papers.

"Tenchi, what do you want?" Yosho asked. "You hardly ever come here by choice any more. What is it?"

"Grandpa, there's something you want to tell me," Tenchi said, stating a fact rather than asking a question. "Well, something you want to ask me."

"Then you already know?" Yosho asked.

Tenchi nodded slowly. "But you ask," he said.

"Very well," Yosho said. He cleared his throat.

"It'll make it easier," Tenchi said.

Yosho nodded. "I've been having my anxieties," he said. "I know that since I'm much older than you, I shouldn't be saying I'm worried, but you are a special person."

"Very special," Tenchi smiled. "Go on."

"I was wondering," Yosho continued. "What is it like?"

"Unfortunately, no-one can be told what it's like," Tenchi said. "It's something you have to see for yourself."

"Oh." Yosho thought of something else. "Can you tell me when..."

"No," Tenchi said abruptly. "No, I'm sorry. I do know, but I can't say. It would just complicate things."

"Will it hurt?"

"Of course not." Tenchi paused. "I'm going to say this much: it'll happen in your sleep. You'll fall asleep, and the next thing you'll know, you'll be surrounded by darkness. You'll try to move, and end up rising out of your body. What you'll be then is just your mind and soul. You'll have no physical presence, and be unable to feel anything as such, but the experience is unlike anything else you've ever known." He paused again. "It's going to be the best thing that ever happens to you," he said. "I know how it sounds, but you'll feel like that. Trust me, you'll be fine."

"So that's how I'll die," Yosho said. He looked down at the small pile of paper. "I thought I'd sort some things out before I do, you know. To be honest..." He closed his eyes. "...I'm worried."

"You really shouldn't be," Tenchi replied. "I've died three times, and I've experienced the same thing you will once. Speaking from personal experience, you'll be fine. I promise."

"From what you've said before," Yosho said, "I take it I'll still exist afterwards, right? I'll still be here. It seems like it would be lonely."

"I can speak to dead people," Tenchi said. "Well, more correctly, I can hear dead people. Dead people still hear everything around them, people speaking and so on, but only I can hear what dead people say. You can still talk to me."

"You can hear dead people?" Yosho asked.

"Sure," Tenchi nodded. His face became serious and he looked straight at his grandfather. "Do you want to speak to your wife?" he asked. "She's here. She wants to talk to you."

"Itsuki is here?" Yosho asked.

"That's right," Tenchi replied. "You talk, and she'll hear you." Tenchi turned his head and looked an area of space slightly to his right. "You can tell me what to say, okay?" he said. He smiled and nodded.

"She's there?" Yosho asked, nodding at the space Tenchi was just talking to.

"Yes," Tenchi said. "I know it's tough talking to something you can't see, but you can try it."

"Okay," Yosho said, shifting his posture, thinking of something to begin with. He cleared his throat, but said nothing.

"Itsuki says that she was kind of shocked to learn about your real past," Tenchi said, "but she understands how that kind of life doesn't appeal to some people. She is glad you stayed on Earth instead."

"You know about all that?" Yosho asked his wife.

"Yes," Tenchi replied. "She asked me some questions a while ago after she realised that I could talk to her. She says that you two have had a fine daughter, and an amazing grandson. Oh, thanks, grandma."

"Were you listening to my conversation with Tenchi just now?" Yosho asked.

"She was," Tenchi nodded. "She says that she too was worried about death, but she now knows there's nothing to worry about. She wants to get rid of your fears. In some ways, death is actually better than life. The only drawback, as far as she knows, is that you can't talk to or affect anyone except me. You just watch on as things happen around you. That's true," Tenchi added. "But you can also talk to Aki, if you want. He can speak to dead people too."

Tenchi listened for a moment, and thought. "Okay," he smiled. "Come here, grandma, into my hand. How long do you think you want?" He paused again. Yosho watched on, puzzling over what was happening. "You've got it," Tenchi said. "It won't come for a moment, but I'll leave before then. Enjoy yourself, grandpa," he said to Yosho. "Just stay tight and wait until I've gone out." Tenchi stood up and walked out of the building, sliding the door carefully shut behind him. As he started walking back to the house, he heard a gasp of shock and joy. He smiled.

"They should both be happy for a while," he said to himself. "Now that I've given grandma a spiritual body, even though it is just for a while, they'll be able to talk in private. That should be nice."

--------------------

Tenchi awoke with a start the next morning. With Ryoko sleeping with him, who was still fast asleep at the moment, Tenchi didn't move. Of course, Aki had moved back to the MAGI to continue teaching, so Tenchi was allowed the comfort of a large bed, only to have it accommodated by the pirate.

Tenchi let his head lean to his left, to see Ryoko sleeping on his arm, a hand next to his body that had slid off his chest. He looked up and whispered.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "I don't mind."

With his free arm, he moved the covers to cover Ryoko's sleeping body, and then looked up into the air. He raised his eyebrows in a "now look what's happened" way.

You knew, came the voice.

"Are you mad I didn't tell you?" Tenchi asked.

No, was the reply. But thank you for letting me speak to Itsuki one last time.

"No problem," Tenchi smiled. "So what will you do now?"

I don't know, Yosho said. I haven't been dead before.

"Any special requests for your body?" Tenchi asked quietly, careful not to disturb Ryoko.

Just to be buried next to Itsuki, if you can.

"Sure thing. The others are going to be sad, though."

I know. And I also know you can handle it.

"I think I'll go sort out your body now," Tenchi replied. "You know, make some sort of coffin before the others wake up. They might not want to see your shell."

Whatever you think is best, Yosho said.

Tenchi nodded slightly, and looked over at his trapped arm. He moved it down through the bed, like Ryoko's phasing ability, and rose up into the air. He pulled on some clothes and disappeared while flying through the wall, heading for the shrine.

--------------------

He told the others after breakfast. Everyone was in shock. How could Ayeka's brother have died now, after living for seven hundred years?

"It's Funa-Oh," Tenchi explained. "It kept its powers those seven hundred years because it was drawing energy from Ryoko's gems. The tree created the special water that sustained him. But once the sword was pulled out, the tree became powerless and normal. It was only a matter of time, then, before this would happen."

"But you pulled the sword out," Ryoko said. "So you killed him."

"I've talked to him, and he really doesn't mind," Tenchi said, laughing slightly. "He said he'd lived long enough, anyway. He's sorry for upsetting you all, but he really is fine now."

"Is... is he here?" Ayeka asked.

"Yosho?" Sasami asked.

"Not at the moment," Tenchi replied. "But he will be at his funeral later. You can talk to him then, through me."

Ryoko was taking it harder than some would have thought. They were enemies, and he had sealed her in a cold, dark cave for seven hundred years, and yet she was still sorry he was dead.

"Oh, lighten up, everyone," Tenchi said brightly. "Don't be sad; he's not. He gets to have more fun now than ever."

Eventually, over the hours that followed, everyone saw that Tenchi knew what he was on about, and cheered up. It wasn't as though Yosho had really gone anywhere; he could still communicate through Tenchi, and probably through some machine Washu had stored in her lab.

The funeral was held, but it wasn't as sad an affair as other funerals. Everyone spoke to Yosho via Tenchi, and were all cheered up. He was lowered into the ground by Tenchi, who then moved soil to fill the hole.

A month later was Tenchi's twentieth birthday. As he celebrated with his friends and family, he reflected back over his life.

Becoming a Saiyan at the age of eleven.

Advancing to a Super Saiyan at age seventeen.

Meeting his friends and future wives a month and a half later.

Fighting and defeating Kagato without using the powers he had come to rely on in the past.

Facing death in the form of a supposed heart attack, and revealing his heart to those closest to him.

Fighting both his clone and an ultra-powerful Slider in quick succession, and evolving in the process.

Losing all his powers two and a half months later.

His search for the DragonBalls, and the fight through time against Rytel the dark wizard, which, of course, never happened.

Encountering the Borg and becoming a mindless drone, but fighting back and sacrificing himself.

Watching as Sasami grew so powerful that she became the third ever Super Saiyan.

The Galactic Martial Arts Tournament, which he won easily after using some of his full powers.

The death of his grandfather.

Tenchi had had quite a full nine years, come to think of it. But now, as he drank to his survival of twenty years, despite dying three times, and the fact that he was actually chronologically quite a bit older than twenty, he knew all that was coming to an end. There would be no more adventures, no more threats. No more fun.

Well, not for a while, at least.

--------------------

end...


	11. And After

...and after

--------------------

The trees swayed their branches slightly in the breeze, their leaves rustling together to give a soothing background noise, which made the child there feel completely isolated from everyone else. The mist helped to create the illusion, fading objects more than perhaps ten metres away on all sides into greyness.

The child walked forwards certainly to an outcropping of rocks on the nearby hill. The rocks had once supported the entrance to a deep cave, but now the boulder that had previously been supported over the opening rested in front of it, completely blocking the portal to the inside of the cavern. It was impossible for the child of about nine years old to move the rock, but spurred on by her curiosity, that spot was her favourite place.

Nearby was a small mound of earth, at one end of which a stone stood. The stone stood on its end, chipped and cracked, although it had obviously been a definite shape at some point in the distant past. Markings, too worn and weathered to be read, appeared on the front of the stone, overlooking the mound. The child, although not understanding what this arrangement was for, always felt that she should respect this spot, and so never walked over the mound. She had spent many hours just looking at the markings in the past, trying to decipher their meaning, but that was not why she was here now. After pausing momentarily to look at the stone, which she thought was placed there to honour someone, despite her elders' protestations, she continued to the place she had been for most of the past week.

She had only recently found this spot, after accidentally digging up random patches of ground. Most of the surrounding area was newly dug up, except the mound. But this particular digging, started about a week ago, revealed something. About a quarter of a metre below ground level was an object, apparently buried there years ago. The child, forever curious, had then, over the past several days, tried to unearth this object, in an attempt to discover what it was. She continued her excavation.

The object, as she was slowly revealing it, was about half a metre long and wide, and about twenty centimetres deep. It was made of wood, surprisingly not rotten after so long in the ground as it had apparently been there. Most of it had been revealed, the whole top and most of the sides. She was trying to dig herself a firm hold on it, so she could pull it out of the ground.

"Tenko!" the call resounded through the forest. "Come home now! Dinner is ready!"

That was the child's mother. The child paid no attention to the call, however; she was determined to dig up this object that day. She was reaching down one side of the object, searching for the bottom edge, pushing the dirt out of the way with her fingers. She found it. Excited, she pushed her fingers underneath and tried pulling it out, but it wouldn't come. She dug her hand in further and pulled harder. The object moved. Thrilled that she had finally managed to move it, she pulled even harder, forcing the wooden item slowly out of its burial place. One last pull forced it free, making the child fall backwards and landing on the moist ground.

Immediately she was back up, examining the thing from all directions and wiping some dirt bits off. She tried picking it up, but it was rather heavy. She used all the effort she could muster, and heaved the object up. She dropped it straight down, as she had an idea. She stood the thing on its side and crouched down next to it, hands holding it steady. She wedged her hands underneath the item and hauled it onto her back. Satisfied that she could now carry it home, she stood up unsteadily and slowly made her way back down the hill towards home.

A fluttering of a bird caught the child's attention. She looked to her side to find the cause of the disturbance, and saw a person standing a few metres away. He had seemingly short hair, but with a long thin trail of hair behind him that reached down to his thighs, periodically tied with little white bands. His eyes were dark and kindly, and his face smiled warmly as he looked straight at her.

Caught off guard, the child stared at the person in front of her. Then she suddenly realised she was off balance, and the object she was carrying was slipping. She stumbled and steadied her grip on it, and looked back at the person. But he was gone. A bird in the tree above chirped and ruffled its feathers, trying to keep the cold of the mist out. The child looked around a bit more, before resuming her journey back home.

As she approached her house, she looked out over the nearby lake, strangely devoid of covering mist. She could just make out the opposite banks. But she shrugged and went into her house.

She took her shoes off after putting the object on the ground, and ran into the kitchen. Her meal was laid out on the table there.

"Tenko, what have you been doing?" her mother asked sternly, standing by the oven. "Have you been digging around those rocks again?"

Tenko looked down, and realised for the first time that day that she was covered in dirt. "Sorry, mommy," she said quietly. Her voice became more eager. "But look what I found, mommy! It's a box! Come look!"

"A box?" the mother asked. She turned down the flames on the cooker and followed her daughter into the hallway. Tenko was pointing at the wooden object whilst trying to move it into a better position for her mother to see. "What is that?" the mother asked.

"It's a box, mommy," Tenko replied. "It was buried near that memory stone."

"It's not a memory stone," the mother sighed. "How many times do we have to tell you? Memory stones are only found in certain places, and that isn't one of them. It's just a normal stone."

"But mommy..." Tenko protested.

"But nothing," the mother said firmly. "Now go get washed and changed, then come down and have your dinner. It's getting cold."

"Yes, mommy," Tenko said quietly.

"You can play with that thing you found afterwards."

--------------------

Tenko rushed through her meal, nearly choking on more than a few occasions, so that she could get back to her box as soon as possible. After swallowing the last of her dessert, she got up and rushed back to her box. She went back into the kitchen for a cloth to wipe the dirt off, and started to clean her box.

As she cleaned, carvings became visible. They were mostly intricate etchings of flowers and plants, but on one side was a completely different pattern. It looked like a word.

AYSHETODECEON

Tenko was puzzled at this word. It meant nothing to her. She finished cleaning it and stood back to look at the cleaned product of her work.

The front door opened and a man walked in. He had brown-red eyes and short black hair. He was Tenko's father.

"Daddy, look at what I've found!" Tenko said, pointing at the box.

"Hello, Tenko," her father replied. "My, what is that?"

"It's a box," Tenko said proudly. "I dug it up today and I cleaned it all by myself. It's quite heavy."

Her father crouched down and looked closer at the box. "This is amazing," he said. "You said it was buried in the ground, right? Where?"

"That's right. It was buried near the memory stone, on top of the little hill with the rocks."

"But how did you get it back here all by yourself?" the father asked. "It's very big for someone your size."

"I carried it on my back," Tenko said. "Daddy, what do you think this means?" she asked, pointing at the word on what was apparently the top of the box.

The father looked at it and read the letters. "I don't know, Ten-chan," he said. "Maybe it's in code or something. Why don't you try and work it out?"

"Okay," Tenko smiled, running away to get a piece of paper. She came back with one, and wrote down the word with a pen she was also carrying. She then walked away to the main room to puzzle over it.

Tenko's father looked at the box more closely. "Ayshetodeceon," he mused. "This box must have been buried there for years, but it doesn't look like it's been damaged at all. Any normal box should have rotted long ago."

--------------------

Tenko had been trying to figure out the word for the past half hour. She had tried rearranging the letters to form a different word, but to no avail. She had tried splitting the word up into groups of letters, but that hadn't worked. Frustrated, she looked again at the box, which her father had placed on the table in front of her, trying to see if she had copied it down right.

After looking closely, she noticed some markings burned into the wood between some of the letters. They were barely visible, as the wood itself was very dark, making the slightly darker marks blend into the background.

AYS,HET,ODEC,EON

She split the word into groups of letters as on the box on her piece of paper. After a bit of moving the letters around, she made a work with the first group of letters.

SAY

Excited that she had made a feasible word at last, she used the same method of moving the last letter of the group as it was written out to the front, to form the next word.

THE

Convinced now that this method was working, she worked out the next word.

CODE

The last word was worked out similarly.

NEO

Tenko was puzzled. Neo wasn't a word, none that she knew, at least. Maybe her father knew. "Daddy," she said. "Can you help me?"

Her father, sitting on the other couch and reading a book, looked up at his daughter. "What is it, Tenko?"

"Is this word real?" Tenko asked, pushing the bit of paper towards her father. Her father picked it up and read it.

"I think it is a word, yes," he said. "Looking at what you've done before, I don't see why it shouldn't be that." He paused, trying to remember something. "Oh, yes. I know where I've heard that name before. My grandmother told me stories of an ancestor of hers called Tenchi. She said he was the strongest man in the universe, and had unbelievable powers. Everyone called him a God."

"Do you think that's the code?" Tenko asked. "Neo?"

The box clicked, and a crack appeared around the sides. Tenko and her father looked at it in surprise. Tenko leaned forwards and pushed the top half slightly. It moved a bit, but dropped back down as she let go.

"Open it," her father said, staring at the box. "Open the lid."

Tenko pushed the lid back, opening the box. Inside was a large hard object, a long thin wooden thing with two red gems in it at one end, half a mask and a round white thing with a green recessed area on one side.

Tenko started pulling out the objects carefully and placing them down on the table. The large hard object appeared to be a book, but the two unidentified things weren't recognised. Tenko's father picked up the book carefully and looked at the front cover. Several words in gold type on the dark brown leather bindings appeared, looking perfectly new.

--------------------

The Lives and Times of Tenchi Masaki

Created by Tenchi Neo Masaki

--------------------

Tenko's father opened the book and read the first page. " 'This book is an autobiography of Tenchi Neo Masaki, God and Creator of Everything'," he read. " 'Inside you will find detailed accounts of my lives, and indeed my deaths, up until the point I sealed this book in the box you have found above the cave entrance near to the Masaki Shrine, which was the fourteenth day of the Earthling year 2131.' " The father looked up at Tenko. "This book is nearly two hundred years old!" he said.

"What else does it say, daddy?" Tenko asked.

" 'I dedicate this book to my friends, of which I have many, but especially to my dearest friends and my two wives, Ayeka Juraia and Ryoko Hakubi. Also for Sasami Juraia, younger sister of Ayeka; Mihoshi Kuramitsu, current Marshall of the Galaxy Police; Washu Hakubi, Goddess of the mind and part of Trinity; and Tenchi Aki Masaki, my brother. These people have helped me through life on many occasions, all of which you will find accounted in this book. There have been four main stages of my life, by which I have separated the sagas in this book. These are 'Continuum T', 'Supplement DB', 'Apex AZ' and 'Afterwards'. Please enjoy reading this, and know that this is personally created by me, and as such is the original of this book, from which no copies have been made. It details several key moments of my life that no person remembers, not even in my time. Enjoy.' "

"Does it say what these things are, daddy?" Tenko asked, holding up the wooden object and the round white thing, and gesturing at the half mask.

"No," her father replied, closing the book slowly and putting it down. "I think it would say somewhere in the book, but not where I read."

"Oh," Tenko said. She picked up the mask and tried it on. "Why do you think this is here?"

"I don't know," her father said, staring at the book. "But this book is unbelievable. The book of God."

"So I guess you have something else to read, daddy, ne?" Tenko asked.

"I guess so."

--------------------

Over the next few weeks, Tenko's father read the book of God, simplifying the stories to tell to his daughter, as well as showing her the many amazingly lifelike pictures drawn within, doubtless by Tenchi himself. The pictures were of different people, objects and places, of Tenchi's friends and family, of his home, of the planet Jurai, of the DragonBalls and Radar, of the Master Key Tenchi-ken, and of all the different forms of Tenchi himself, including his Masked Man appearance, all his Saiyan forms and his evolutions.

The box, Tenko's father read, was carved by Tenchi himself, and had contained some of the most treasured objects of the universe. The Dragon Radar, Tenchi-ken, the mask of the Masked Man and God's autobiography were all in there.

The book revealed many secrets and facts about Tenchi's lives. Apparently, in the year 2120, Tenchi's wife Ryoko died, and was buried in front of the cave she had been trapped in for seven hundred years. The inscription on the gravestone read:

'Ryoko Hakubi Masaki

Her life was full and pleasant

After death she remains

To watch over the rest

Her memory remains in

Everyone forever'.

Tenchi's other wife, Ayeka Juraia Masaki, lived for a few more years, but she too died in 2125. Her body was buried on the planet Jurai, as was custom for all royalty. Her and Tenchi's time seated in the Imperial Chairs of the Jurai palace was, as described by everyone else, "beautiful", but was described by Ayeka herself as "dull". Her heart lay with Tenchi, and the adventures they once had. It seemed they were never fully happy with a quiet life after all those things had happened during Tenchi's teenage years, and so they would often disappear to have some fun, where they could shed the burdens of the Jurai Empire and just be themselves.

Mihoshi Kuramitsu died in 2103, quietly in her sleep. She had improved her nature to be less "ditzy", as others called it, through Tenchi's help, and found her final job as Grand Marshall of the Galaxy Police, as her grandfather had been before. She retired several years before she died with her husband Shinji, a very dear friend to her throughout her later life, and they lived the rest of their lives peacefully, having both lived a truly full existence.

Washu Hakubi, being the Goddess of the mind and a member of the Trinity, still lived, holding a permanent prestigious seat at the most respected institute of the Jurai galaxy, where she worked constantly to ensure peace throughout the galaxy and to enforce restrictions on certain technological advancements at her discretion. She never married.

Sasami Juraia outlived her older sister and was offered the Empresses Throne aside Tenchi after Ayeka died, to sit in lieu of her older sister. She refused this, choosing instead to work at her passions and ambitions. She had married one of the new students at the Masaki Institute for Gifted Individuals called Darmeni, and they both lived happily on a remote planet, living their lives as they dreamed.

Tenchi Aki Masaki handed the MAGI over to his best student, Saifer, the son of one of his first students with the same name, in 2075, and settled down on the planet Earth, where he soon met his future wife Megumi. They raised a family, soon joined on the planet by some of Tenchi's offspring, who wanted to escape the strangling lifestyle of Jurai. The descendants of these children eventually produced Tenko.

And as for Tenchi, God, himself...

--------------------

Tenchi Neo Masaki was killed in 2136 after a fatal fall off a tall building in Jurai's capital. He had been leaning out of a window near the top of the building, when he was suddenly struck by an incapacitating headache. He had toppled out of the window and crumpled into the street below, almost severing his head as he landed, his neck certainly snapped. There was a crowd of dozens who had seen this. Tenchi was buried alongside Ayeka Masaki in the traditional burial place of the Jurai Royal Family. He had planned to visit Sasami after his walk, during which he had detoured to visit the building, as he usually did every so often, but that trip was one he never made.

--------------------

As Tenko heard the last of the stories, sitting on one of the couches in the main room of the Masaki household near the impact lake, a boy stood nearby in the trees, watching her. His short hair ruffled slightly in the wind, and his thin long trail of hair, running down his back and periodically tied with white bands, blew around him, as his kind brown eyes watched Tenko live her life. The boy, looking in his late teens, smiled, and like the wind, left without a trace.

An angel he was not, and though he did not guard, not interfering in anyone's life at all, he watched. He observed the lives of people continue, begin and end. He was the Watcher.

"It may not be real," the boy said to himself, before vanishing, "but it's nice enough."


	12. Last

There are many directions in space, but here, now, there was nothing to be seen. There was nothing to see, and no light with which to see it.

Reality had existed, now, for hundreds of billions of years, continuing to run to ensure that any life that was going to happen would, and had its opportunity. It had admittedly taken a very long time for it all to fade away and stop. Now, with only the shattered fragments of stars and planets, both having long ago leaked their gases throughout the Universe, it had officially ended.

All that remained were twenty-four beings and many billion billion billion minds, all of which floated around, aware of but not seeing each other mind. For these minds took up no physical space. That was what their bodies had been for.

In another part of reality, a private and closed dimension, was a room. It was the kind of room Jurai Galaxy Earth American football stadiums held for the most important guests. A large window took up one wall, towards which half a dozen comfy seats were faced. There was a table behind the seats, of the finest compound to ever exist, and around this table were six chairs.

Standing in this room was a single person, one of the two dozen remaining beings in all of Reality. He was young, perhaps in his very early twenties, with short brown hair except a long stretch at the back of his head that reached down to the back of his knees, and kind brown eyes. His ears were ovaled, about the same size as his nose, and on the same level as it too. He wore completely white clothes, smart casual style. The appearance was completely fake, of course; this person had existed very near the beginning of the Reality timeline, which itself was a creation of his. He looked around briefly and sighed with all the sense of foreboding. He cleared his throat.

Twenty-three beings appeared in the room, of all shapes and sizes. There were three humanoid women, and twenty bizarre-looking creatures. All of them the first person knew, of course; it was his job to; but three of these creatures held deep connections to him.

"As you probably know," the first person said, "Reality out there has come to pretty much the end of its usefulness. Nothing is left to happen, and there are minds out there that have waited for over three hundred billion years for what I am going to do within the next day. That is why you are here."

"What are we to do?" a woman asked, with light brown hair.

"I'm going to initiate what I'd like to call 'Third Impact'," God replied. "This is a process whereby every single mind is completely melded together as one perfect being."

"Will that include us?" a tall purple beast asked in a deep gruff voice.

"Yes, it will," Tenchi replied. "There's no point in keeping this going any longer, really, so what I suggest is that I should end this Reality."

"Is that the End, then?" Washu asked, her form now the one she first had, as a part of the Trinity.

"Not at all," Tenchi replied, smiling. "After this Third Impact, I'll collapse all dimensions, all universes, and create a new set. Reality II."

"Why aren't you telling this to everyone?" another Slider asked, this one female and shaped like a bird, with brilliant white fur feathers and a metallic blue beak.

"I shall do," Tenchi replied. "There's plenty of time. I just wanted to start Third Impact with you guys, if you don't mind."

"But what will happen to us after?" K'oko asked.

"There'll be no more 'you', as such," Tenchi said, "so for you there is no later. But this Impact being you're all going to become will be a part of the fundamental background in the next Reality. It's better than simply destroying it all, right?"

Most of the Sliders nodded, along with the Trinity. Tenchi smiled.

"Shall we begin?"

--------------------

"Inhabitants of Reality, can I have your attention?" Tenchi called. He was now in his human-God form, the form he had always called his God form. In actual fact, he had one more form, one he had only used once, way back when he created the Multiverse. That was his True-God form. But at the moment, human-God Tenchi was floating in the middle of the main universe, amongst clouds of dust and gas.

Those minds nearest to him moved towards him, wondering what he was going to say. The more intelligent ones, those minds that were educated and not promo-beings with the first primitive minds, which formed the first true life, also wondered how Tenchi was talking, when there was no air for him to breathe. It was also puzzling how Tenchi was floating there at all. But he was God. These things wouldn't bother him.

Tenchi was actually speaking in a language that transcended all others. Every single being could understand it perfectly; it was just one of the many things he had designed back at the start of Reality. He didn't need to move his mouth to speak, as the words were instantly picked up by everyone across the spread of everything, but he did so to look more normal than he already did, floating in the middle of space centuries after the last star had died.

Tenchi waved his hand, and every single bit of matter existing transformed into pure invisible energy, the proper backdrop of Reality, and was absorbed into Tenchi's body, where he calmly cancelled it out. Now, with a complete nothing except him in space, everyone could see him easily. Indeed, if there was nothing, there would be complete darkness, but Tenchi himself was illuminated by invisible immaterial sources.

Soon, every mind to exist was gathered around Tenchi, none able to see any others, and none able to tell that they were in almost exactly the same position as each other mind.

"As you have noticed," Tenchi said in the primal language, "the Multiverse has pretty much run out. I have therefore decided to initiate what I like to call Third Impact, and then to end this Reality. For the benefit of those who haven't seen 'The End of Evangelion'," he added, "let me explain.

"In the movie 'The End of Evangelion', an event takes place. This event merges each and every human mind on the planet it was created on into one perfect entity. The producers called this entity God. What I intend to do is the same principle, but to merge absolutely every mind that ever existed into one mind."

Tenchi reached forwards and cupped his hands at arms length. "If you would all position yourselves between my hands, we can begin."

Immediately there was uproar as very many billions of minds all clamoured at once. Tenchi knew what they were going on about anyway.

"I don't want to force you all," he said, "but I do want to end this existence very soon. Trust me; it'll be fine. And you all should know God wouldn't lie to you. But I really don't see your argument. Most of you have been hanging around for countless millennia, haven't you? And you've just spent the last several hundred years looking at nothing, right? I would have thought you'd all be bored enough to get it over with. Now, come on. This is an order."

Those minds that weren't already between Tenchi's hands were moved there by an immensely powerful force. Now almost every mind in existence was contained within an area the size of an average snowball, except God's mind, of course. The Sliders and the Trinity were all there, their minds already merged into one.

There was a loud silent flash of brilliant blue and red light, the blue from Tenchi's body and the red emanating from between his hands.

And then there were two.

--------------------

One of the two had the collective knowledge of every single being that ever existed, except for Tenchi Neo Masaki. This one's body was slender and long, although size meant nothing in the leftovers of a place with no scale. No hair appeared on its body, and there was no gender. Its body was practically perfect, and looked almost human, despite the large pure white wings protruding from its back.

The other had the entire knowledge of everything. This one had no corporeal body, but a vague shimmering mist suggested another humanoid form. The main extent of this other being was busy collapsing and ending every other dimension and universe, except the one the mist was in and another one.

_Third Impact_, said the first form, it too communicating by its mind, so there was no tone of voice, just the impression of words. _Suitable._

**Any last questions?** the mist asked.

_What will happen now?_

**Now I shall end this Reality, and sculpt a new one. And that is the way. It will always be the way. And I shall always be there.**

_I'm sorry for your continued existence, never able to end or stop. It is always your responsibility. Always you._

**It is almost time.**

_What fate shall come of me, of everyone comprising me?_

**Your essence will become a part of the very basis for the next Reality. You yourself will stop realising that you are, but will merely become a fundamental 'is' for the rest of ever. After I have broken all this, you will never know again, but will always exist.**

_Oh._ Omnia paused. _Fair enough._

**Goodbye.**

The mist faded, and Omnia was left alone in the collapsing universe. In a moment, Reality would end.

_The fate of destruction_, Omnia said, _is also the joy of rebirth. Will the last person to leave Existence please turn off the lights..._

--------------------

And then it started. It all started.


End file.
